Uganda Martyrs

Publication in Britain of an 1875 letter purporting to be an invitation from Kabaka Muteesa I, to send missionaries, resulted in the arrival of Alexander Mackay of the Anglican Church Missionary Society to Buganda in 1877. A group of French Catholic White Fathers, led by Père Simon Lourdel (Fr. Mapera) appeared two years later. Arab traders from Zanzibar had introduced Islam into the kingdom. This effectively led to a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court.. Muteesa himself sympathized with Islam, but many prominent chiefs had become Christians. Kabaka Mwanga II succeeded to the throne in 1884. He was concerned at the growing influence of Christianity and the rise of a new class of officials, distinct from the traditional territorial chiefs, who were educated, had a religious orientation, and wished to reform Ganda society. The German annexation of what is now Tanzania sparked further alarm. A year after becoming king he ordered the execution of Yusufu Rugarama, Makko Kakumba, and Nuwa/Noah Serwanga, who had converted to Christianity. Mwanga did, however, subsequently appoint several Christians to important military positions. == Executions in 1885–86 ==

marking the spot from where future martyrs walked for death In 1886, Mwanga ordered the executions of many members of the royal court for refusing to yield to his religious demands, which he saw as insubordination. Heike Behrend says they were both Christian and Muslim converts; other sources speak only of Anglican and Catholic victims, and mention the killing of Muslims as having occurred ten years earlier at the hands of Mwanga's father Muteesa. Joseph Mukasa, a convert to Christianity who had deplored the assassination of Hannington, and had tried to protect the court pages, was the first to be executed on 15 November 1885: this was at the instigation of the Katikkiro (prime minister) Mukasa, whose successor Joseph Mukasa was tipped to become king. Mwanga instructed the killing of all the young men who disobeyed him – partly to satisfy the demands of the older chiefs. Twenty-two of the men, who had converted to Catholicism, were burned alive at Namugongo in 1886. "The reasons behind the persecution are still heavily debated", Behrend states. Political factors certainly also played a part. Those killed included minor chiefs, some of whom, such as Joseph Mukasa, were "the victims of particular grudges by their seniors ... jealous that these up and coming young men would soon be ousting them from power" The king, who by tradition had the power of life and death over his subjects, was angered by this refusal to obey his wishes to have sex with him. Roland Oliver rejects resentment against Christianity as a sufficient reason, since it does not explain why Mwanga took action against these young men and not against prominent chiefs and women among the converts. Sylvia Antonia Nannyonga-Tamusuza draws attention to the same point. Particularly as some of those that renounced their faith were spared death." In the week leading to the executions, the Christian Matthias Gayinga rejected the sexual demands of Mwanga's close friend, the Muslim Lutaya, to whom the king had sent him for that purpose. For this he was severely punished, though not killed. His stance was described as a "splendid refusal" by the English missionary A. P. Ashe, who later said it set the spark for later events. His action was followed by the refusal of another convert, Anatole Kirrigwajjo, to accept nomination to a high post "which he could only exercise at the peril of his soul". Mwanga summoned the pages and asked those who prayed to stand to one side. These, most of whom were between 15 and 30 years old, were then taken on a long journey to execution by being burnt alive. By displaying the courage their Christianity demanded, they helped remove any notion that the new religion was inconsistent with traditional ideals of heroism. == Political aftermath ==

The converts, at least the Catholics, had been taught they risked martyrdom. The secular press of the time described them as martyrs. The same description appeared also, of course, in religious publications, both Protestant, such as the journal of the missionary Mackay published in the Intellegencer of 1886, and Catholic, such as the accounts of the missionaries Lourdel, Denoit, and Delmas published in Enquête relative au martyre des chrétiens: Ste Marie de Rubaga, Buganda 1888 and Les Missions Catholiques 18 (1886). This sentiment developed into a campaign for British intervention in the region. In September 1888, Mwanga planned to get rid of remaining Christian and Muslim leaders by leaving them to starve on an island in crocodile-infested Lake Victoria. Word of his plan leaked out and a rebellion by Christians and Muslims together brought Mwanga's brother Kiweewa to the throne. In October 1888, the Muslims seized power, expelled the Christian leaders and, when Kiweewa refused to be circumcised, deposed and killed him, replacing him with another brother, Kalema. In December 1888, Mwanga won support from Christians and in April 1889 advanced against the Buganda capital. He was defeated, but the Christian forces, led by the Protestant chief Apollo Kaggwa, retook the capital, enabling Mwanga to enter it triumphantly on 11 October 1889. The Muslims took refuge in the neighbouring kingdom of Bunyoro, which helped them to return victoriously in November 1889, but they suffered a decisive defeat in February 1890 and withdrew again to Bunyoro. In 1888, British authorities authorized the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) to administer the East African territory assigned to Britain in its 1886 treaty with Germany. In November 1889, Mwanga asked the company's agent Frederick Jackson for help. Jackson hesitated to accept the request, because he had been given orders not to enter Buganda. Carl Peters, an agent of the corresponding German company, learning of Mwanga's appeal, decided to respond to it. He arrived at Mengo, Mwanga's new capital, a fortnight after the February 1890 defeat of the Muslims. Since these still presented a threat, Mwanga accepted his offer of a treaty. Jackson then arrived and offered a treaty, which Mwanga rejected, since even the English missionaries considered its terms too onerous. With the aid of the Church Missionary Society, which used the deaths of their martyrs to win broad public support in Britain for acquiring Uganda, Lugard then successfully dissuaded Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and his cabinet from abandoning Uganda. The powers of the IBEAC were transferred to the British Crown on 1 April 1893 and on 27 August 1894 Mwanga accepted Buganda being made a British protectorate. However, on 6 July 1897 he declared war on Britain. Defeated on 20 July in Buddu (in today's Masaka District), an area assigned to Catholics in the 1892 treaty, he again fled to German East Africa. He was declared deposed on 9 August. After a failed attempt to recover his kingdom, he was exiled in 1899 to the Seychelles, where he was received into the Anglican Church. He died in 1903, aged 35. == Catholic Church veneration ==

According to Heike Behrend, following the deaths, the Catholic Church used the episode to make the victims the focus of a "cult of martyrs". In the ceremony of canonization of the Catholic martyrs, Pope Paul mentioned also the Anglicans, saying: "Nor, indeed, do we wish to forget the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, confronted death in the name of Christ." The Papal Mass canonizing them is notable as the last time such was celebrated in the Tridentine form at St. Peter's Basilica. A set of postage stamps was issued in the following year by Vatican City for commemorating the canonization. A 3 June feast day of Charles Lwanga and the twelve others who died on 3 June 1886 is included in the General Roman Calendar, while the nine remaining martyrs are commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on their respective dates of death. The Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs at Namugongo was built in 1968. Since the 1980s it has become the venue of massive pilgrimages, and plans for large-scale expansion were announced in 2014. Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno, a church in Rome dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs, was dedicated in 1980 and became a titular church in 1988. In 1993, the Uganda Episcopal Conference established a university named after the Uganda Martyrs, which received its civil charter in 2005. In 2014, Uganda celebrated 50 years since the Uganda Martyrs were canonized and elevated to sainthood by Pope Paul VI on 18 October 1964. The Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine is a thanksgiving monument for their canonization. Official groundbreaking was on 3 May 2015 by the Papal Nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Michael A. Blume, and Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala. Re-development included construction of a new church shrine, museum, offices, and martyrdom spots of the saints. List of the 22 Catholic martyrs Two martyrs of Paimol There were also two Ugandan martyrs of a later period, who died at Paimol in 1918 and were beatified in 2002. These have not yet been canonized. The martyrs Daudi Okelo and Jildo Irwa were two young catechists from Uganda. They belonged to the Acholi tribe, a subdivision of the large Luo group. They lived and were martyred in the years immediately following the founding of the mission of Kitgum by the Comboni Missionaries in 1915. == Anglicanism ==

The 23 Martyrs of Uganda are remembered in the Church of England with a commemoration on 3 June. When commemorating the martyrs of Uganda, the Church of England includes Archbishop Janani Luwum, who was murdered in 1977 by Idi Amin's henchmen; they also commemorate Luwum separately on 16 February. ==Catholic hymns about the Uganda Martyrs==

During Uganda Martyrs canonization day on 18 October 1964, a Ugandan choir of nearly 100 people, led by Joseph Kyagambiddwa, sang hymns about the Uganda Martyrs and their journey of faith. Joseph Kyagambiddwa wrote and composed 22 hymns about the Uganda marytrs. The hymns and songs include; • "Karoli Lwanga Wuuno Omulwanyi" (loosely translated as Lwanga, the invincible religious warrior). • "Kizito Omuto ye wange" which is loosely translated as "Young Kizito is my own". • "'''Abagalagala b'embuuza'''" which is loosely translated as "Where are the royal guards" • "Mulinnya lya Patri" which is loosely translated as "In the name of the father" • 1975 Marytrs anthem by Yusufu Byangwa. • Mukulike Abazira by Godfrey Lubuulwa • Bayuguuma Ekibuga by Pastor Simeon Kayiwa. • Abajulizi by Kato Ssekandi. • Abalamazi by Gabriel Bulindwa. • Babalangaki by Gerald Kiweewa. • Bakikola by John Ntale. • Omulanga gwa Mapeera by Emmanuel Ssekidde. == In popular culture ==

The Ugandan Martyrs were featured in one episode of the film Millions. In the DVD of the film it is mentioned that one of the actors who played the martyrs claimed to be a descendant of one of the martyrs. In 2015 Posta Uganda released a postage stamp set on the occasion of the 50th anniversary in 2014 of the canonization of the Uganda Martyrs. == June 2025 Ugandan rebel suicide bombing ==

On 3 June 2025, two Ugandan rebels were killed when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives near the Munyonyo Martyrs' Shrine just outside Kampala. The attack was during a celebration of Martyr's Day. The two rebels were the only individuals killed. == Shrines ==

Uganda martyrs shrines in Uganda include: • Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo • Saint Andrew Kaggwa (Kahawa) shrine in Hoima District. • Saint Anatole Kiriggwajjo shrine in Hoima District. == See also ==