In 1875, a letter purportedly authored by Kabaka Mutesa I of Buganda was published in England. The letter was a request for Missionaries to come to Buganda and help Mutesa develop his kingdom through the introduction of Christianity and the education it promised.

It was well received and its immediate result was the arrival of Alexander Mackay as the first missionary from the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1877.

In 1879, Fr. Lourdel Pierre Simon (Mapera) of the catholic White Fathers arrived in Buganda.

With the Muslim Arabs already in Buganda, there was a 3-way race for converts. This three-way race caused anxiety at Kabaka’s (King’s) court in Mengo.

By 1880, most prominent Buganda chiefs and many young pages at the Kabaka’s court in Mmengo had converted to the Anglican and Roman Catholic faiths.

When Mwanga ascended to the throne of Buganda in 1884, he was faced with a King’s court that was essentially no longer influenced by traditional Buganda cultural practices on account of increasing Christian influence and tradition.

Like Henry VIII whose tumultuous romantic life caused him to break ties with Roman Catholic tradition, Kabaka Mwanga sought to begin his own revolution against Christian tradition within Buganda.

Unable to bend young Christian pages and faced with reformist chiefs within Buganda, Mwanga lashed out at Christian leaders and campaigners. The first senior victim of his purge, speared on both sides, was Bishop Hannington, martyred in Busoga as he made his way to Buganda on 29 October 1885. It is said that his last words murmured to those who killed him were “Go tell your Kabaka I have purchased the road to Uganda with my blood.”

No doubt, at the time of his death, Bp. Hannington was aware that Mwanga had already started killing Christians. The first Christian martyrs, martyred on 31st January 1885 were Rugarama Yusuf and Kakumba Makko killed at Busega. The last of Mwanga’s victims, killed on 27th January 1887 was Mzee Jean-Marie.

In all, Mwanga II would martyr 45 Christian converts. Twenty-two of the men, who had converted to Catholicism, were burned alive at Namugongo on 3rd June 1886.

On October 18th, 1964, Pope Paul VI canonised the 22 Catholic men martyred by Mwanga. In 1968, the Basilica at Namugongo was built, and since 1980, has become the site of massive pilgrimages by the Catholic faithful. The Church Of Uganda has also now completed the construction of a 10,000+ faithful at Namugongo.

This year, as we have done for more than 35 years now, Uganda will tomorrow June 3rd join in the celebration and remembrance of the Uganda Martyrs.

This year’s celebrations come in the wake of persistent calls by President Museveni for the population to join him in fighting the scourge of Corruption.

It was those who harbored corrupt desires that convinced Mwanga to murder Christian converts. In a similar fashion, it is those who have embraced Corruption that continue to stall the universal realisation of socio-economic transformation in our communities and country.

A 2022 report commissioned by the Inspectorate of Government shows that corruption costs our economy at least Ugs 9 trillion each year. Left unchecked, Uganda could lose up to Ugs 45 trillion at the end of the current presidential term.

These celebrations also come in the wake of President Museveni’s accenting to the Anti Homosexuality Bill, now Act, passed by Parliament.

This Anti-Homosexuality Act has been angrily received by President Biden of the United States as well as by some Europeans. Of course, Ugandans, by and large, are in support of this Act, and the Christian clergy across the country have hailed it as “good” because Homosexuality is “against our will, against our culture, and against our religious beliefs.”

Corrupt practice and moral decadence are twins that curtail any meaningful attempt at any society’s attempt to be transformed from a peasant one to a modern industrialised one.  

No wonder, the Church Of Uganda has declared “United for Sustainable Service and Growth - Ephesians 4:11-16” as their theme for this year’s festivities.

No wonder then, that the Roman Catholic Church, in recognition of the validity of President Museveni’s call for us to rise above corruption and following Parliament’s unequivocal bald stance against the bankruptcy of morals by LGBTQi promoters, has chosen “Celebrating courage and Faith” as its theme. Perhaps then, we might embrace the courage of the martyrs as we battle corruption and decadent sexual behavior, perhaps we might reaffirm that God our Father is the author and finisher of our Christian faith!!

Happy Martyrs' Day.

#MartyrsDay2023

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