Ugandan churches to require ID cards

DAILY MONITOR, Uganda

Ugandan church leaders are asking Christians to produce identity cards and agree to security checks before entering some churches after two terrorist attacks at World Cup viewing parties left more than 70 people dead.

"We are taking these new measures to ensure that the worshippers are safe. We do not want the wrong people to enter into our churches," Anglican Bishop Stanley Ntagali of the Masindi-Kitara Diocese told ENInews.

The security measures follow bomb attacks on July 11 in Kampala at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant, where people were watching the final match of the World Cup soccer championship.

Al-Shabab, a radical Somali Islamic group, claimed responsibility for the blasts and said there would be more attacks.

The Ugandan government has urged owners of buildings and other public facilities, including churches, to use adequate security measures, such as guards, metal detectors, cameras and lights.

"We are going to register our church members and provide them with proper identity cards. No stranger will be allowed to attend any prayer session," Pastor David Kiganda, vice-chairperson of the Uganda National Fellowship of Born-Again Churches, told Uganda's Daily Monitor.“