As retold by Rev. Michael Wasswa Ssentamu, Vice Principal, Uganda Martyrs’ Seminary, Namugongo (Anglican).
This tragic but heroic story is set against a background after the death of King Muteesa 1 of Buganda in 1884.
He is the one who invited the white missionaries to bring the Christian faith to his kingdom in 1875.
He was succeeded by his son Prince Basamula Mwanga, who was aged 18. As a young man, Mwanga did not have much political experience.
He was certainly far behind his father who had been wiser, older and more experienced.
By then, Buganda was in a period of transition; many people were converting from the Kiganda traditional religion to Christianity including his foremost courtiers which thing threatened his royal powers.
He was threatened greatly by the news he received that the German, Carl Peters was preparing to attack Buganda.
As if it was not enough, it’s alleged that Muslims and traditionalists poisoned the Kabaka’s mind against the new converts to Christianity and the white missionaries that they were conspiring to overthrow him.
The allegation was accelerated by a routine of reciting the Lord’s Prayer, in which the new converts to Christianity invoked God to establish His will and kingdom on earth which made the Kabaka think they were planning to overthrow him and replace him with another king!
In order to consolidate himself in power, Mwanga decided to neutralize or even wipe out Christianity from his kingdom.
It was under such circumstances that in January 1885, Alexander Mackay the Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary, wished to leave Buganda for a while and take a rest for a time and pray for Buganda about the worsening situation.
He was escorted by three young converts to Christianity namely Joseph Lugalama, Mark Kakumba and Noah Sserwanga. Mackay’s departure angered Mwanga especially when he refused to be escorted by the envoy the Kabaka gave him and instead the three boys escorted him.
Mwanga interpreted this as an act of disobedience! He dispatched a group of spies to monitor their movement.
No sooner had they travelled a short distance than his ruthless spies arrested them.
The two CMS missionaries, Mackay and Ashe were imprisoned but later set free while the three boys were mutilated and burnt to death at Mpimerebera-Busega for disobedience on 31st January 1885.
These were the first Christians to be martyred and they belonged to the Anglican Church.
As they marched to martyrdom, they sang a Christian hymn “DAILY WE PRAISE” heroically. Their execution was witnessed by a widow, Sarah Nakimu Nalwanga, a new convert to Christianity and a relative to Mwanga. This courageous woman who had a baby, had been captured along with the three boys and was also led to witness the slaughter at Busega, probably to force her to fear and recant the Christian faith.
Fortunately, she did not. Later, she was imprisoned and probably survived martyrdom, because of the baby she held!
From the killing of these boys, already a conflict of loyalty was building up in the minds of the converts between the Kabaka on one hand and the missionaries on the other.
At this time, the missionaries began to suspect even fear that they might be arrested or even killed. The converts therefore elected a church council called Mengo Church Council.
Its purpose was to continue the work of evangelism if the missionaries were forced to leave Buganda.
This church council later after martyrdom played a great role in the spread of Christianity outside Buganda especially in the kingdoms of Toro, Bunyoro, Ankole and even outside Uganda.
In the same year, Mwanga learnt of the German seizure of Bagamoyo in Tanganyika and Bishop Hannington’s journey to Buganda via Busoga, the backdoor route, which according to pagan prophecy by diviners during king Ssuna’s reign, would be used by invaders of Buganda.
The missionaries tried to warn the Bishop against using that abominable route; unfortunately the message did not reach him. Luba, chief of Busoga and a friend of Mwanga, arrested him.
He was speared to death on orders of Mwanga on 29th October 1885. As he was dying, the bishop said these words, “Tell the king I die for Buganda, I have bought this road with my life.”
The innocent man of God breathed his last. Hannington was the newly appointed bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa and had his provincial headquarters at Mombasa in Kenya.
The murder of Bishop Hannington was the beginning of a widespread massacre of Christian converts in Buganda.
In other words, the news of the bishop’s murder spread like a bushfire in Buganda and was received with fear and anguish among the white missionaries and the new converts to Christianity, whereas it was joy to Mwanga’s chiefs especially those who hated and disliked Christianity.
Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, one of the Catholic fearless pages and a friend of Mwanga blamed the Kabaka for ordering the persecution of an innocent man of God.
This angered Mwanga who immediately ordered for his execution.
The Prime Minister, Mukasa who did not like Balikuddembe had him executed immediately before even reaching Namugongo, the major persecution and execution site.
He was killed at Nakivubo on 15th November 1885, just two weeks after Bishop Hannington’s martyrdom.
By the time Mwanga changed his mind and ordered for his release, it was too late!
After the massacre of Balikuddembe, a number of calamities happened and they were interpreted by Mwanga as bad omens springing from the Christians.
There was an outbreak of plague, which killed many chiefs and pages. This forced him to shift his palace from Nabulagala (Kasubi) to Mengo but the new palace was consumed by fire, with heavy loss of lives and property.
He took refuge in the Prime Minister’s house, which was struck by lightning; Kabaka’s diviners even interpreted this as Kiwanuka (Buganda god for lightning/thunder) annoyed for the Christians’ abandonment of the traditional religion.
He shifted the palace to Munyonyo on the shores of L. Victoria while Mengo was being repaired. While there, an eclipse of the sun took place, which was interpreted by the Arab astrologers as a sign of danger to Buganda.
To worsen the situation Mwanga’s sister, Clara Nalumansi converted to Christianity, got married and even burnt the sacred objects of the temple entrusted to her, contrary to the Kiganda custom.
All these did a lot to aggravate an already incensed Kabaka who interpreted the misfortunes as springing from the Christians.
James Miti, one of the Christian converts and eyewitnesses of martyrdom reported in his diary “With these happenings, people began to whisper that they were caused by Mwanga’s murder of Bishop Hannington and martyrdom of Christians.”
On one occasion, Mwanga returned from an unsuccessful hippopotamus hunt in Lake Victoria. He found many of his pages had deserted the palace including his favourite “boy” Muwafu. They had gone to different centres for Christian instruction, which angered Mwanga greatly.
He went on a rampage in the palace quarrelling and beating the Christians he came across.
In a raging temper, Mwanga picked up his notorious spear commonly known as Muwabutwa (which gives poison) and beat up one of the martyrs Dennis Ssebugwawo, the one who had taken Muwafu until the spear broke.
He gave him up to the executioners who killed him on 26th May 1886 at Munyonyo. He beat up Apollo Kaggwa, the prominent Anglican chief, threw his books in the fire and even told him not to pray anymore!
Among those Christians who suffered terribly at Munyonyo were H. Nyonyintono who was castrated, Musa-Mukasa butchered, Ponsiano Ngondwe speared and hacked to pieces and a Munyoro page Andrew Kaggwa whose arms were chopped off, he was beheaded and then hacked to pieces by eight executioners.
His martyrdom was witnessed by four girls, who were collecting firewood in the bush. They were barbarously punished after being detected by the executioners. Their hands were chopped off and eyes gouged out.
As if that was not enough, Mwanga gave an order for all the Christians to be arrested and killed.
The executioners went on rampage arresting and killing whoever they could come across.
Many were killed in different places and it is therefore difficult to establish the exact number of Christians who were martyred!
The climax of that terrible martyrdom was that which took place at Namugongo, at the present Church of Uganda (Anglican) shrine where 13 Anglicans and 12 Roman Catholic pages were burnt to death by Mukajanga, the Kabaka’s chief executioner on 3rd June 1886.
They were chained like slaves and travelled a distance of about 28kms from Munyonyo to Namugongo while being ridiculed and tortured by the executioners. Reaching the martyrdom site, they were subjected to intense and brutal torture to make them recant the Christian faith but none of them did.
They were even forced to carry the wood and reeds in which they were wrapped and burnt on a huge pyre.
Incidentally, they courageously and heroically faced death without any fear. While they were dying, the martyrs hailed and praised God through hymns and prayers. Like Jesus, they even prayed for their executioners.
Ironically, Mukajanga was an uncle to Mbaga Tuzinde, one of the martyrs. He persuaded him to renounce the Christian faith and be pardoned but the boy refused! Out of pity to spare the lad from suffering, he ordered his assistants to club him on the head and throw his lifeless body in the flames. From a distance, he gazed while shedding tears as the body of his “obstinate” son was being consumed by fire!
Lastly, many other believers went through untold hardships and suffering but escaped death and such people were contributive to the narration of the martyrs’ story and spread the Christian faith outside Buganda to other regions.
Such people were members of the Church Council and they included Peter Nsubuga, Mark Luyimbazi, Noah Nakiwafu and Tito Wakibingo. They played a big role in the evangelization of the kingdom of Toro and persuading Omukama Kasagama to get baptized in 1896.
They were joined by Apollo Kivebulaya, who volunteered to spread Christianity to Mboga DRC among the pygmies. In Bunyoro, Tomasi Senfuma instructed Omukama Kabalega’s son Kitehimbwa for baptism whereas Daniel Kamukukulu and Yairo Musenze-Alanda played a big role in the baptism of Omukama Kabalega’s deputy Byabachwezi and his daughter, princess Damalie Karajuka among others.
The blood of the martyrs became the seed which spread the Christian faith. It ought to be noted that the period of Christian persecution took two years and the total number of the martyrs who died were 46. 22 were Roman Catholics and 24 were Anglican including Bishop Hannington who was white.
In conclusion, as we remember the martyrs, we need to focus our attention on their faith. Their suffering and death displayed a lot of bravery and commitment to Christ at the same time challenging our Christian life to stick firm to Christ even if it means death. They died physically but still live spiritually. Their Christian heroism has been an inspiration and led many people to commit their lives to Christ. Rev.2: 10 says, “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.”
scholarly presentation