Security agents first thought the "Electric Touch" machine was a device for making bombs, and confiscated it, a BBC correspondent reported.

It was being mailed to Kojo Nana Obiri-Yeboah, a charismatic preacher who runs the We Are One ministry. Under questioning by police, he denied it was going to be used as a prop to make his congregation believe he has a connection with the Holy Spirit, the report said.

"This is a toy. It was sent for my daughters' birthday," Obiri-Yeboah told the BBC.

However, Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo launched a probe into the activities of churches, the report said.

"We feel there is a need for a policy on religion," he told the BBC.