Speaking at the annual National Prayer Breakfast meeting held at State House on Tuesday, Museveni expressed his willingness to help restore the US group, which introduced the concept of a national prayer breakfast to Uganda over two and a half decades ago.
“When we came into power, a group from the US called the National Prayer Breakfast Group came to us. They introduced it here, and we have sustained it for 26 years,” Museveni said.
The president attributed the introduction of the prayer breakfast to Doug Coe, a key figure from the US, and his German counterpart, Rudolf Decker, both of whom came to him with the idea.
Doug Coe was part of the US National Prayer Breakfast, which had been an established event since 1953. Historically held at the Washington Hilton, the annual gathering brought together political, religious, and business leaders from across the world to pray and discuss global issues.
Organised on behalf of the United States Congress by a Christian organisation known as the Fellowship Foundation (or simply The Fellowship), the event had been a central fixture in Washington’s political calendar.
However, in 2023, the National Prayer Breakfast in the US underwent significant changes. Amidst controversies surrounding transparency and the organisation of the event, the US Congress decided to split from the Fellowship Foundation.
Concerns had mounted over the Fellowship’s coordination, with 30 groups signing a letter to boycott the event due to these transparency issues.
As a result, the longstanding tradition in the US appears to have lost momentum, something President Museveni pointed out during his remarks.
Museveni noted the growth of Uganda’s prayer breakfast movement but expressed concern over the apparent decline of the US group.
“Recently, I was talking to First Lady Janet and pointing out that our movement here, which was planted by those people, is growing, but wondering what happened to theirs because they are the ones who introduced it to us,” he remarked.
“We need to check on the US and see what happened to their movement, whether they need our help, and if we can help them because I no longer hear anything from that group,” Museveni added.
Museveni tasked Minister of State for Trade, David Bahati, to contact Senator Chuck Grassley, whom he believes is the only surviving member of the original group that worked on the prayer breakfast initiative.
“I am tasking Minister David Bahati to contact Senator Grassley, who I think is the only surviving member of that group, and find out what happened,” Museveni said.
Over the years, Uganda’s version of the National Prayer Breakfast has become a key event for fostering unity and dialogue across religious and political lines in the country.
It is held annually on the eve of the Independence day and involves prayers and sermons from different religious denominations in the country.
