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If you haven’t noticed, a harrowing video podcast is trending on the internet where a young man named Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua has shared his sad story about how he was sodomized as a young child. His friends call him Jeshua Eleazar. This young man was exposed to homosexual p#rnography when he was in P3 and abused as well. We cannot confirm if the perpetrators were punished, but we have everything he said from A to Z in this article.
The purpose of this article is to call upon organizations in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) space like UNESCO and Reach A Hand Uganda to respond.
This trending story first grabbed national attention after a podcast appearance with Emeka via The Romantic Mukiga Youtube channel. Now, in a deeply raw follow-up on the Bridging a Gap podcast, host Wonder Jr provides Ampumuza the space to confront the “smoke” surrounding his story, including accusations from detractors who claim he was not the victim, but a threat to others.
The story of Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua a very disturbing narration of how bullying, parental neglection and systemic failure. His experience of sexual abuse slithered through homes, “reform” mentorship programs, and even the sacred halls of the church. While a Form 5 student recently took to social media to claim that Ampumuza was actually a predator who used threats of exposing bed-wetting to coerce others, Ampumuza addresses these claims head-on, framing them as the egocentric deflections of those who refuse to see a survivor’s growth.
Below is the comprehensive, raw Q&A from his conversation with Wonder Jr.
Who is Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua is a young man who has come out to name and shame the different institutions of society that have failed the boy child into homosexuality. The young man captured national attention by courageously narrating his struggle with sexual abuse and sodomy in environments meant to be safe—homes, churches, and schools. Identifying as a survivor rather than a victim, he uses his platform to highlight the “spiritual doors” opened by trauma and the desperate need for parents and the church to provide a blueprint for the next generation. He is currently in a healthy heterosexual relationship and advocates for boy-child mentorship through his ministry work.
What happened during Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua’s formative years?
Wonder Jr:
Who we become is a byproduct of how we’re raised. The formidable years of conditioning a child are from birth to 12. It seems to me like something happened to you in that timeframe that changed your life. What is it?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
Okay, as I get into the story, I would like to correct a statement. I said, “I’m not a victim, I’m a survivor”. I think that’s something that people need to understand. For me personally, who has gone through the process of healing, I don’t think I would identify as a victim, but as a survivor. Yes, you’ve talked about the earlier age where the mind of a child is more moldable.
Let’s make it in a nutshell what happened. Well, in P3, without getting into too much graphic detail, at home, there was a system that was placed: when you come back from school, you take off your uniform, you wash it, you do your homework, and then you can watch television. I had a very frictional relation with my brother because I was generally a big-headed kid. He had sort of conditioned my parents to think that this child is just unruly, doesn’t want to listen. So they told my brother if I ever become disobedient, he’s the big brother and he should discipline me.
How did the cycle of abuse begin in Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua’s home?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
Now, there’s a day that whole environment switched. I come back from school, I do my things because I’m going to watch a television show that was usually on. I sit down and I’m watching the show, then my brother approaches me. I could immediately tell the vibe was different because he was being way too nice. From the boy who was reporting me to my parents saying I was undisciplined, he now had begun actually acting too nice. He sits next to me in the long chair and tells me, “Oh, go get my phone for me from the bedroom”.
I go to the bedroom, it’s on his bed, and I get it. The first thing on the phone is p#rnography. He was watching p#rnography on the phone, but I feel like he did that deliberately to open up that world. The continuous abuse… because when I bring him his phone, he kind of says, “Have you seen… did you see what was on my phone?” I was like, “No, I just carried it and brought it to you”. And then he begins to watch the p#rnography while sitting next to me. That’s how the orals and all these different things get in.
Why was Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua expelled from his first high school?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
Yes. I’m watching p#rn with him and there’s oral s3x happening. I did my P7 in P6. My dad asked me, “Do you want to go back and finish and do P7 or go to high school?” I was like, “No, I can try the S1 thing”. I get sent to a school, but remember, in my mind, the image and environment that has been created is “this is how boys relate”. So I go to school and I’m touching boys. This was like the first week. They weren’t happy about it and they go and tell the warden.
The warden calls me up, we go to the HM’s office. Long story short, we get into an environment where it’s “Oh, you’re going to be expelled, we’re calling your parents”. Now, because in my mind—people will say I was protecting the abuse or maybe I liked it—when they ask me, “When did this start? Who taught you these things?” I lie to them and tell them, “Oh, there’s a school that I was at in primary and I was in the hostel and all these things happened”. My parents come and the school narrates what I’ve told them.
My dad is like, “No, he was in that school, yes, but we never put him in the boarding section”. Eventually, I say, “Okay, yes, my brother did this to me”. My brother says, “Ah, that one is lying just because I’m strict on him and he’s looking for someone to blame. He already lied at school that it started there, so what he’s saying now can’t be true”.
What is the truth behind the Ugandan boy mentorship program abuse?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
My mom gets connected to a mother who also had an unruly child. They tell her about a particular program that grooms men, that puts them back into shape. The tagline of the head of this organization was, “You have a troubled boy? Bring him, I will twist the screws and there’ll be a proper boy”. That’s how I get into the line of that program.
The next day, my mom takes me to the offices of this individual. He tells my mom to leave, that they’re going to “set a base”. As soon as my mom walks out the gate, this man does what we call “necking”—he puts your head in the middle here and holds it tight. He called the counselors to come and hold my legs, and then they caned me. There was no counseling. My mind just blocked it out. I sat in the sitting room and sobbed until 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. When my mom came back to pick me, they told her, “He’s going to stay here for the weekend”.
That night… I’m a “cold sleeper”. I sleep fully clothed—sweatpants, jumper, and blanket. I’m in the room with this counselor. He’s sitting across from me in his boxers and asks, “You go to bed like that?” I said yes. He turns off the light. In the middle of the night, I get an uneasy feeling that someone is looking at me.
I turn, and this guy is jacking off looking in my direction. He notices that I’ve seen him, and then he crawls into the blanket with me and begins to abuse me as well. It was a mattress on the floor. He puts his hand down my drawers, and before I know it, my drawers are off, my jumper is off, and everything is happening.
What was Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua’s experience with abuse in the church?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
This goes on Friday, Saturday. Friday, there was an overnight at some church. We go for the overnight, I’m doing the prayers and stuff. I need to use the washroom. I walk to them—they were seated at the top of the steps. It was a Pentecostal church, people walking, praying, speaking in tongues.
I tell them I need to use the washroom. This counselor says, “Oh, it’s dark, let me escort you and torch for you”. We go to the washroom, and he abuses me in the toilet during the service. The speakers are loud. As I’m hearing people singing… it’s a Luganda song.
I think my mind just taught me to hate it. It’s by Judith Babirye… that song just gives me goosebumps because I could hear it from the washroom as he’s doing what he’s doing to me. When we get back in the church, he begins to speak in tongues again. That particular scenario gave me the worst type of “church hate”. In my mind, I said, “If that’s the God these people are serving, I don’t want to be associated with it”.
Who is Johnson, the ‘Guardian Angel’ who helped Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua heal?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
I get into Form Three and I’m still feminine-presenting, but I slowly became a celebrity at school because I was a “girls’ boy”. This new boy, Johnson—tall, Sudanese, muscles, looks like he can punch you in the face. There was only one space in the dormitory… the bed above mine in the corner. He says, “I want to sleep on the other bed, on top of me”. After the boys have gone, he tells me, “You, you’re going to be my personal project”.
As I’m sloping down the stairs [mimics feminine walk], I feel someone does like this [mimics a slap or push] and said, “If I catch you walking again like that…!” In the evening, I went to the hostel late because I have to sleep with him in the same dormitory. When I enter the dormitory, I find my uniform trousers—I used to wear really tight trousers—I find all my uniforms are cut. He walks in and tells me, “I don’t want you wearing those trousers again”. He gets my hand, he walks me down to the office. He looks at the bursar and says, “Give this boy new uniforms, the baggy ones”.
When I asked Johnson why he chose to be my friend, he says on the first night as he was laying the bed, a letter from my bed fell to his bed. I was writing it to some girl in my class telling her how I love her, but I know she can never love me back because everyone has told her I am gay. And he said, “Everyone has failed you”. I told him about the abuse. I kid you not, this six-something tall, dark, muscular boy sobbed and gave me a hug and told me it wasn’t my fault.
What is ‘Down Low’ (DL) culture and sexual confusion in campus boys?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
The sexual confusion only leaves once you fully submit to God. You’ve heard of a statement: “DL guys”. Guys that are on the down-low. They look masculine, they look into girls, but under the sheets they are different. The physical is a man, he’s masculine, he might play rugby. And the reason he plays rugby is so he can look at fellow boys’ bums. Until the sexual confusion is dealt with on a spiritual level, that boy is going to struggle with it for a long time. If a man looks at these eyelashes and it turns him on, I’m not the problem. You’re the problem.
What is Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua’s advice to parents and the Ugandan church?
Ampumuza Eleazar Jeshua:
You all need to pick up and redefine some of these things. But most importantly, parenting. Parents, we don’t know our children. It’s not about knowing your children. I’ll end with this: parents who assume the s3x conversation is not a conversation, or they feel like it’s an uncomfortable conversation to have… you’re not having that conversation with your child, but there’s a kid who has been abused at home that goes to the same school that your kid goes to, and that is watching p#rnography.
You who are saying that conversation is uncomfortable for your child… I will pray for you. I’ll pray that away. But that boy who has also been abused is showing your son p#rnography and touching him. You don’t have the conversation, and then you all jump to the whole thing of, “Well, rebuke the demon”. You’re the demon, because you don’t want to address those things. You’re letting your children have all these things and blaming them for feeling ways, yet you never gave them the blueprint.
