By Andrew Victor Mawanda Naimanye

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His faithful servants"—Psalm 116:15

Every year, on 3rd June, thousands of faithful from within the country and beyond flock to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo to commemorate the execution of 45 Christian converts (22 Catholic and 23 Anglican) who were killed on the orders of the then Kabaka (King) of Buganda, Mwanga II, between 1885 and 1887 for refusing to denounce their faith in the Lord. Coincidentally, 3rd June is also Kabaka Mwanga’s birthday.

The story of the Uganda Martyrs dates way back to 1875, when British American explorer Henry Morton Stanley arrived in the courts of Kabaka Muteesa I in Munyonyo, Kampala. The Kabaka warmly welcomed him and believed Stanley would be the next ally of the Buganda Kingdom. Indeed, Muteesa was not deceived, as Stanley proved his integrity by aiding the Kabaka in the battles against the autonomous Vumma of the Buvuuma Islands on Lake Victoria. Although he was not a missionary, Stanley briefed the Kabaka about Christianity while denouncing Islam. After his month-long stay in Uganda, he requested the Kabaka to permit him to bring missionaries in from the United Kingdom to spread the gospel of Christ, an offer that the Kabaka gladly accepted.

Later that year, Stanley wrote a letter in the name of Kabaka Muteesa inviting missionaries to come to Uganda. Two missionary groups, the Church Missionary Society and the French White Fathers, arrived in Buganda in 1877 and 1879, respectively.

Although their arrival was welcomed by the kingdom, the Kabaka now had to deal with four different groups: the traditionalists, the Muslims, and the two Christian groups. However, little did the Christians know that their fate was about to be doomed.

Following the untimely passing of Kabaka Mutesa I in 1884, the kingdom was left in the hands of his successor, Kabaka Mwanga II. Mwanga believed that the Christian faithful were a threat to the Buganda Kingdom and ordered the killing of Bishop Hannington in 1885.

Kabaka Muteesa had amicably managed to settle the differences between the four religious sects; his successor, on the other hand, had ascended to the throne unexpectedly at the age of 18, and his knowledge about religion was limited.

Mwanga believed that the Christians had negative impacts on the traditional Buganda norms, which pledged allegiance to the king and indulged in practices such as worshiping, sacrificing, and offering in shrines. Upon converting to Christianity, the pagans denounced their traditional gods and followed Christ.

As a result, Mwanga feared that he would become subject to the missionaries and their agenda and lose power in his own kingdom. The killing of the martyrs that followed was part of his fight against the spread of European influence in Uganda, which was diluting the Kiganda culture as the king was largely disrespected.

For example, the first of the Uganda Martyrs to be killed on 15th November 1885, Joseph Mukisa Balikuddembe, questioned the king's orders of killing Bishop James Hannington earlier the same year, something that was unacceptable as per Buganda tradition. Bloodthirsty kingdom chiefs such as Mukajanga, who worked as Mwanga’s chief executor, partly contributed as well. At least 45 Christians were murdered between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.

Historically, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. The death of these young men in their teens and early twenties, who later became famously known as the Uganda Martyrs, favored the spread of Christianity, as it proved Christianity had grown deeper in Buganda amidst the presence of other religions such as Islam and the African traditional religion.

Those who managed to survive Mwanga’s brutal acts preached the gospel that those who died have not died but have been reunited with Christ in heaven, which restored hope to the people of Buganda, urging them to convert to Christianity.

The acceptance of Christian pages to die made Mwanga believe that he could not stop the spread of Christianity in Uganda, forcing him to make peace with the Christians and build a cordial working relationship. Eventually, Mwanga converted to Christianity and was baptized as a Protestant.

The 22 African Roman Catholics were collectively beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964. In November 2015, the late Pope Francis visited Uganda to mark 50 years since the canonization of the Uganda Martyrs.

This year, the Anglican celebrations will be spearheaded by the northern cluster of Northern Uganda, which includes the dioceses of Northern Uganda (Bishop Godfrey Loum), Lango (Bishop Alfred Olwa), West Lango (Bishop Julius Ceaser Nina), Madi-West Nile (Bishop Charles Collins Andaku), Kitgum (Bishop Wilson Kitara), and Nebbi (Bishop Pons Awinjo Ozelle). The Rtd. Archbishop of the COU, Dr Henry Luke Orombi will be the days preacher on the provincial theme Imitating God’s Goodness in Doing Good derived from Galatians 6:9-10 and 3 John 11

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The writer is a Media Communications Student at Leeds Beckett University in the UK and is employed with the Social Media Department at Church of Uganda Family TV