I posted this article here on the 24th January 2024 after visiting both Namugongo Martyrs Shrine and the Martyrs Museum at leisure. Since 1975, the 3rd June has been celebrated as Martyrs Day in Uganda in honour of the 23 young Catholic converts and 22 Anglican ones who were killed for their faith at Namugongo under the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda. They were killed between January 1885 and January 1887. Their blood has remained the “seed of the church” in Uganda.
May, one of my young sisters from London, joined us celebrate the festive season last year. My mother could not have enough of her ; it left the two emotionally rattled. What was not said between them spoke more than what was said. Having a lot of time to ourselves, we chose to visit the cradle of our Christian faith at leisure at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo . It is located about eleven kilometre east of the capital, Kampala. Being a long holiday, we had the place to ourselves.
Naturally, we started off at the Anglican Church Museum built under the stewardship of Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo (1938-2018). Archbishop Nkoyoyo conceived the idea of building the museum at the Anglican Martyrs Shrine in 2013 , had it constructed and it was opened by Pope Frances in 2015 when he visited Uganda.
Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyoyo built this world class faith-based and pilgrimage complex for the following reasons:
- To preserve the history of the young martyrs killed and buried at the site on 3rd June 1886.
- To develop a pilgrimage site that can be visited throughout the year and generate some money to fund some church activities.
- To show case Uganda’s rich cultural heritage
He was driven into this huge undertaking because his grandfather was among the few converts who survived the killings. It proved to be a tough undertaking but he persevered.
The first missionaries from the Church Missionary Society of Britain led by Alexander Mackay arrived in Buganda in June 1877 and were followed by the White Fathers from France led by Father Simeon Lourdel and Brother Amans in February 1879 during the reign of Mutesa 1. They competed for converts , managed to get a number among the Kabaka’s/king royal pages. Kabaka Mwanga 11, aged 18 years, succeeded his father in October 1884. As the Kabaka, he had absolute power and found it hard to accept that the newly converted subjects worshipped a god higher than him. Between 1885 and June 1886, he ordered the converts either to renounce their new church-based faith or die.
Archives indicate that as far as 1764, the then Kabaka of Buganda had set Namugongo site as a place where the royal executioner brutally killed anyone who disobeyed the Kabaka. During the reign of Mwanga 11 , the chief executioner was called Mukajanga.
The hands and legs of the condemned were tied as they walked the ten kilometres to this execution site. At the site, they would be tortured and dragged on their backs ( Omugongo) as the executioners collected the firewood and tools needed for the slaughter. By the time they were executed they were weak but they still sang and bore witness to Jesus Christ in both words and actions.
Some were speared to death or beheaded while many were tied up in reeds and thrown into a raging fire. Their remains were later buried at the site.
Between January 1885 and January 1887 , 23 Catholic converts and 22 Anglican Church ones were executed at Namugongo. Youngest among them was John Baptist Kizito(1872-1886), the patron saint of children.
On the 3rd June 1886, a total of 32 young men, Catholics and Anglicans were burned alive at Namugongo.
This explains why later in 1975, the 3rd June was officially declared Martyrs day in Uganda in recognition of the of these young men who were persecuted for their faith and the site had been declared a religious Shrine in 1967.
I visited the shrine in the early 70s but my mother, being a staunch Catholic attended the first Mass celebrated by Pope Paul V1 in July 1969. She continued to make the annual pilgrimage until 2016 when the degenerative chronic arthritis almost confined her at home.
Walking around in Mukajanga’s territory after about 138 years, was extremely humbling and arresting. With the help of the tour guides, I was able to stretch my imagination to experience the horrors of the time.
The architectural structure of the museum complex is truly African ; with reeds set firmly into concrete and the floor looking old and familiar with the earth tone colours of brown, grey and beige and muted shades of orange, red and yellow.
The sculptor of the chief royal executioner, Mukajanga, at the entrance , with his big , terrifying eyes , his pose, his huge muscles, his attire and amulets set the tone of what is to follow.
The sculptures of the executioners and the condemned wrapped up in pyres of reeds, others being tied up and dragged on their backs under the torture tree within the executioner’s command post are very real. So is the raging fire in which they are later thrown to burn to death. I was spell bound until I entered the small chapel next to this fireplace. An experience of this nature is unforgettable and nags your conscience to relive it as you live your life daily as a Christian. I had a similar experience during my pilgrimage to Israel in 2011 when I visited the garden of Gethesemane and the Calvary. It is indeed a spiritual revelation.
Thereafter, we walked to the spring where Mukajanga and his team washed their tools
and cleansed themselves symbolically before returning to normality.
I must admit that the Sculptor, Fred Kigozi Lubwama did an amazing job with their facial expressions; reflecting a degree of inner turmoil enveloping them at that moment in time. Unfortunately , Fred Kigozi died in a motorcycle accident near his home on 31st December 2019, aged 36. He was a natural enthusiastic and talented sculptor. His creations will always remind us of him. He created all these sculptures out of the friendship and respect he had for Archbishop Nkoyoyo other than for money.
By sheer coincidence, the church was preparing for a memorial service in honour of the late Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyoyo who died of cancer on 5th January 2018 and was buried at this very site too. We said a thankful prayer over his grave.
Another humbling effect for the two of us was finding our names and four other family members including our father and mother on a plaque recognising 22 friends of the Uganda martyrs from the United Kingdom. I remembered that in 2014, while visiting my sister in London, Archbishop Nkoyoyo happened to be in London fundraising for the construction of the museum. We had willingly given some money towards the noble cause and left it at that.
The Catholic martyrs shrine built under the stewardship of the late Cardinal Emmanuel Nsubuga, the second Ugandan Catholic archbishop of Uganda, was completed in 1967. In July 1969, Pope Paul V1 who had declared the 22 Ugandan martyrs as saints in 1964, visited the shrine. An open air mass was celebrated at the site and my beloved mother could not miss it for anything.
By the time we arrived at the basilica, a regular mass was being celebrated so we missed the opportunity to look around. Our well trained guide took us around the grounds.
The sculptures of the young martyrs were built by a sculptor and the Roko Construction company. Some martyrs were beheaded, others tortured and left to bleed to death others were speared to death. The horror and violence of each event was captured remarkedly. Each of the young martyrs has been made a patron saint : the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft or activity. The tour guide informed us the most visited martyr by Ugandans is James Buuzaabalyaawo, the patron saint of traders and merchants. The grounds are well kept, have some green areas. The church has been innovative in creating hope and joy in a place that once symbolised horror.
Mass weddings and baptisms are conducted at the central alter of the amphitheatre. Symbols of new beginnings.
The water from the spring is clean, treated and is considered as holy water by the pilgrims.
The Uganda martyrs shrine of Namugongo has become the largest Christian pilgrimage destination in Africa just as both the late Cardinal Emmanuel Nsubuga and late Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyoyo envisaged.
It is said that, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.’’
I appreciated the fact that the spread of Christianity in Buganda, happened during the time of the Europeans’ scramble for Africa. The British in particular wanted to control the source of the Nile in Uganda to consolidate their control over Egypt.
Kabaka Mwanga 11 fears were genuine in that the white man’s religion threatened his power and sovereignty. After the killing of the new converts in Namugongo in 1886, a period of religious wars followed in Buganda as Protestants, Catholics and Muslims fought for dominance at the Mengo court. It ended in 1892 when the Protestant converts sought the assistance of Captain Fred Lugard of the Imperial British East African Company. He armed them with guns and they decisively defeated the Catholics and Muslims.
After 1892, there was renewed effort by both the Protestants and Catholic missionaries to spread Christianity in Uganda. Some good was born out of the killings of the martyrs: In 1903,
King Mwanga 11 died a baptized Christian while exiled in the Seychelles.
According to Uganda’s 2014 census, over 84 percent of the population was Christian, 14 percent Moslem while the rest practiced traditional religions.
What stands out for me is that 138 years after the martyrs’ deaths, the loss of life has continued in Uganda. Those in position and power use their power to oppress their opponents. In February 1977, the then archbishop of the Anglican church, Janani Luwum and two other government ministers were murdered for speaking out on the violence and horror against the people by President Amin Dada’s government.
The November 2020 violence and terror leashed on some members of the opposition just before the 2021 January general elections was scary. Up to today, many are being tortured for their political leanings. Debating, negotiating and reaching a consensus on the important issues that affect us is yet to become an integral part of our governance.
The two Archbishops built the Basilica and martyrs’ museum, the onus is on every Christian to visit and promote these historical religious sites. Not forgetting to live by our religious convictions.
QUESTION:
When was the last time you visited the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo? Did the visit leave you the same way you went there?
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