Martyrs of Uganda
Encyclopedia
The Uganda Martyrs were Christian converts who were murdered for their faith in the historical kingdom of Buganda
, now part of Uganda
.
and his companions, Martyrs of Uganda, were a group of Christians (both Roman Catholics
and Anglicans
) who were murdered by Mwanga II
, the Kabaka
(King) of Buganda
, between 1885 and 1887. These deaths were part of a three-way religious struggle for political control of the Buganda
royal court. In 1877, the Church Missionary Society in London had sent Protestant missionaries to the court, followed two years later by the French Catholic White Fathers
. These two competed with each other and the Zanzibar
-based Muslim
traders for converts and influence. By the mid-1880s, many members of the Buganda court had converted and become proxies for the religious and nationalist conflict being played out in the court. Kabaka Mwanga II, upon his ascent to the throne, attempted to destroy the foreign influences he felt threatened the Buganda state, but was instead deposed by armed converts in 1888.
Anglican James Hannington
, the Protomartyr, had been dispatched to be the bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, but he was executed with his companions before they could enter Buganda.
Twenty-two of the martyrs were Roman Catholics and were canonized by Pope Paul VI
on October 18, 1964. Although the Anglicans were not canonized in the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope did mention them. Their feast day is June 3.
They were:
The Ugandan Martyrs were featured in the film Millions
.
group. They lived and were martyred in the years immediately following the foundation of the mission of Kitgum by the Comboni Missionaries in 1915.
includes Archbishop Janani Luwum
, who was murdered in 1977 by Idi Amin
's henchmen; they also commemorate Luwum separately on February 17.
History of Buganda
The history of Buganda is that of the kingdom of the Baganda people, the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda.-Pre-colonial and colonial Buganda:...
, now part of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
Charles Lwanga and his companions
Saint Charles (Carl) LwangaCarl Lwanga
Charles Lwanga was a Ugandan Catholic catechist martyred for his faith and revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in the kingdom of Buganda in the southern part of modern Uganda, and served as a page and later major-domo in the court of King Mwanga II...
and his companions, Martyrs of Uganda, were a group of Christians (both Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and Anglicans
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
) who were murdered by Mwanga II
Mwanga II of Buganda
Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa was Kabaka from 1884 until 1888 and from 1889 until 1897. He was the thirty-first Kabaka of Buganda.-Claim to the throne:...
, the Kabaka
Kabaka of Buganda
Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda. According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and the other material....
(King) of Buganda
Buganda
Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala, with the exception of the disputed eastern Kayunga District...
, between 1885 and 1887. These deaths were part of a three-way religious struggle for political control of the Buganda
Buganda
Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala, with the exception of the disputed eastern Kayunga District...
royal court. In 1877, the Church Missionary Society in London had sent Protestant missionaries to the court, followed two years later by the French Catholic White Fathers
White Fathers
The missionary society known as "White Fathers" , after their dress, is a Roman Catholic Society of Apostolic Life founded in 1868 by the first Archbishop of Algiers, later Cardinal Lavigerie, as the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa of Algeria, and is also now known as the Society of the...
. These two competed with each other and the Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
-based Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
traders for converts and influence. By the mid-1880s, many members of the Buganda court had converted and become proxies for the religious and nationalist conflict being played out in the court. Kabaka Mwanga II, upon his ascent to the throne, attempted to destroy the foreign influences he felt threatened the Buganda state, but was instead deposed by armed converts in 1888.
Anglican James Hannington
James Hannington
James Hannington was an Anglican missionary, saint and martyr.-Life:Hannington was born at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex, England, on 3 September 1847. A poor scholar, he left school at fifteen to work in his father's Brighton counting house. At twenty-one, Hannington decided to pursue a clerical...
, the Protomartyr, had been dispatched to be the bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, but he was executed with his companions before they could enter Buganda.
Twenty-two of the martyrs were Roman Catholics and were canonized by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
on October 18, 1964. Although the Anglicans were not canonized in the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope did mention them. Their feast day is June 3.
They were:
- Achileo KiwanukaAchilleus KewanukaSaint Achilleus Kewanuka, also known as Achileo Kiwanuka or Achilles Kiwanuka , was a Ugandan Roman Catholic revered as a saint in his church. He served as a clerk in the court of King Mwanga II of Buganda, and converted to the Christian faith under the missionary group known as the White Fathers...
- Adolphus Ludigo-Mukasa
- Ambrosius Kibuuka
- Anatoli Kiriggwajjo
- Anderea Kaggwa
- Antanansio Bazzekuketta
- Bruno Sserunkuuma
- Charles LwangaCarl LwangaCharles Lwanga was a Ugandan Catholic catechist martyred for his faith and revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in the kingdom of Buganda in the southern part of modern Uganda, and served as a page and later major-domo in the court of King Mwanga II...
- Denis Ssebuggwawo Wasswa
- Gonzaga Gonza
- Gyavira Musoke
- James Buuzaabalyaawo
- John Maria Muzeeyi
- Joseph Mukasa BalikuddembeJoseph MukasaJoseph Mukasa Balikuddembe was a Ugandan Roman Catholic and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church...
- KizitoKizitoSaint Kizito was one of the Martyrs of Uganda. The youngest martyr slain by the King Mwanga II of Buganda, he was burned alive in 1886. He was canonized on 18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI at Rome. His feast day is on June 3....
- Lukka Baanabakintu
- Matiya MulumbaMatiya MulumbaSaint Matiya Mulumba, also known as Matthias Murumba Kalemba , was a Ugandan Roman Catholic, one of the Martyrs of Uganda, who was martyred on or around May 30, 1886 at around the age of 50.-External links:* at Patron Saints Index...
- Mbaga Tuzinde
- Mugagga Lubowa
- Mukasa Kiriwawanvu
- Nowa Mawaggali
- Ponsiano Ngondwe
The Ugandan Martyrs were featured in the film Millions
Millions
Millions is a 2004 British comedy-drama film, directed by Academy Award–winning director Danny Boyle, and starring Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon, and James Nesbitt. The screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce adapted his novel while the film was in the process of being made...
.
The two martyrs of Paimol
The martyrs, Blessed Daudi Okelo and Blessed Jildo Irwa, were two young catechists from Uganda. They belonged to the Acholi tribe, a subdivision of the large LuoLuo (family of ethnic groups)
The Luo are an ethnic linguistic group located in an area that stretches from South Sudan and Ethiopia through northern Uganda and eastern Congo , into western Kenya, and ending in the upper tip of Tanzania. These people speak an Eastern Sudanic language, a branch of the Nilo-Saharan language...
group. They lived and were martyred in the years immediately following the foundation of the mission of Kitgum by the Comboni Missionaries in 1915.
Archbishop Janani Luwum
When commemorating the martyrs of Uganda, the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
includes Archbishop Janani Luwum
Janani Luwum
Janani Jakaliya Luwum , was the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977 and one of the most influential leaders of the modern church in Africa. He was murdered in 1977 by either Idi Amin personally or by Amin's henchmen.-Early life and career:Luwum was born in the village of Mucwini in...
, who was murdered in 1977 by Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
's henchmen; they also commemorate Luwum separately on February 17.