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Grace Nakimera, once a dominating force in Uganda’s music scene, has opened up about her struggle with alcohol addiction even after becoming born-again.
The Anfukuula hitmaker admitted that while she had turned to God, her transformation took time, and it wasn’t an instant change.
"I was born-again but total transformation took a while. At times we get saved when deep inside of you, you still hold onto one bad habit or two," she said.
Despite being saved, Nakimera says she found herself relapsing into old habits.
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Often her friends in the music world drew her back into her old habits.
In the interview, she recounted when she once went to preach the gospel to her friends in the bar, and ended up joining them for drinks.
“Before I got born-again, I struggled with alcohol. One time, months after I became born-again, I took a decision to start ministering in bars, because that was where most of my musician friends hang out.
“So I went to meet and preach to them at the bar. I went sober but by the time I came out, I was staggering like them.”
This decision led to a series of unfortunate events. The demons she had once fought, including the strange attacks she experienced during her career, came back into her life.
"When you relapse like that, you are opening a big door for the bad spirits back in your life," Nakimera confessed. The experience was a painful lesson that led her to stop preaching in bars and to recommit herself to a more genuine transformation in her faith.
Demonic Attacks and Spiritual Struggles
Before embracing salvation, Nakimera had battled intense demonic attacks.
She described these attacks as involving strange animals, like birds, snails, and snakes, that would invade her apartment daily.
She also had constant feelings of choking and paralysis often taking hold of her.
She believes that fellow musicians, jealous of her success, had bewitched her because of her rapid rise in the music industry.
But even after becoming saved, Nakimera found it challenging to break free from the hold of her past.
“I entered salvation half-heartedly. I thought I could be on both sides, and I had a lot of friends who were concerned that if I went too deep in church I would not fit well with them.
“One of them told me I would run mad if I became too spiritual, and I thought they had a point. So I figured I should start playing both sides.”
A Revelatory Moment and Turning Point
Nakimera’s turning point came after she went back to hang with her friends and ended up relapsing and getting drunk for an entire week.
In the midst of a relapse, she had a vivid dream that changed her life.
"I had a revelation in sleep, in which I saw myself on the brink of death," she recalled. It was at that moment that she made the conscious decision to stop drinking. "From that time, I stopped drinking, and I have not touched a bottle since. It’s been four years."
Nakimera turned to full-time church ministry and has been running her nonprofit, Feed The Streets Foundation.