THE UGANDA MARTYRS

Uganda Martyrs are the Christians who were killed in 1886 under the orders of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda who had just come to power after the death of his father Kabaka Muteesa I in 1884.

Many of the Uganda martyrs were young boys who had accepted Christianity and some were working at Kabaka’s palace as pages (messengers).

On 3^rd June 1886, 37 of them were killed and burnt at Namugongo which was Buganda’s traditional sacrifice centre.

That’s why every 3^rd of June all Christians in the world gather at Namugongo to remember the death of those Christian heroes.

Reasons for the killing of the martyrs

The belief that Buganda’s independence would be taken away by Foreigners coming from the East led to the killing of Bishop Hannington and Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe the first martyrs.

Mwanga”s too much authority also led to the death of the Uganda martyrs because no one could oppose what the king had decided.

It’s believed that the killings were part of the annual traditional norm of sacrificing to the ancestors and the gods commonly known as “kiwendo” in Buganda at that time.

They were killed due to Buganda’s fight against the spread of European culture into the kingdom which was diluting the kiganda culture.

The death of Mutesa I in 1884 who had peacefully handled the disagreement left behind a power vacuums which resulted into the killing of the martyrs.

Kabaka Mwanga’s immoral character and unethical behaviors put him into conflict with the pages hence killing them. I.e. it was reported that Mwanga was a homosexual who killed the pages because they had refused his demands.

It was also believed that Mwanga was ill-advised by his own traditional prime minister (katikkiro) to kill the martyrs.

The influence of the foreign religious teachings that made the pages stop worshiping in the shrines made Mwanga annoyed forcing him to order for their death.

Mwanga’s desire to have control over all groups in the kingdom made him to order for the killing of those who opposed him and his authority.

Suspicions that the CMS was working with General Gordon to come and take over Buganda independence made Mwanga to hate Christians hence killing them at Namugongo.

Mwanga feared to become a mere subject to the missionaries and avoid such he had to scare them by killing some of them.

The Christian teachings that emphasized equality made many Buganda to not respect the king seeing him as equal to them hence their being burnt at Namugongo.

The influence of the Arab Muslims at the king’s palace who always told the king that the missionaries were agents of European colonialism also made the king to kill the martyrs.

It also believed that some martyrs died because of some grudges with their seniors i.e. the senior pages got scared of the junior pages thinking that they would take over their positions hence influencing the king to kill them.

The strong belief that Christian had in life after death and resurrection of their bodies forced many pages to accept death hoping to resurrect soon.

The strong faith the Christian had in Jesus Christ made them not to denounce Christianity hence their death.

The martyrs were proud of dying so that they could copy the example of Jesus Christ who was also killed as a sacrificial lamb.

Effects/importance of the death of Uganda martyrs on the church

The killing of the Uganda Martyrs had both positive and negative effects on the spread of the church/ Christianity as shown below.

Positive effects

Their death favored the spread of Christianity as shown below.

When they were killed, it confirmed that Christianity was established in Buganda amidst other religions.

The killing of Uganda Martyrs also helped to make Christianity popular and famous within and outside Buganda making people to know what Christianity was.

The Christians who remained defended the death of the martyrs on grounds that they had not died but had joined Christ in heaven teaching that attracted very many people in Christianity.

The on-lookers and those who got news of the killings were inspired by the heroic acts of the martyrs who accepted to die for their faith.

The acceptance of the victims to die made Mwanga believe that he couldn’t stop the spread of Christianity by persecution. He, therefore, made peace with Christians hence spreading the gospel.

The killings/massacres inspired and aroused many more Baganda like Apollo kivebulaya to take on missionary work both within and outside Buganda

After killing of martyrs, Mwanga started befriending the Christians and appointed them in important positions in his palace which made Christianity to spread e.g. Apollo Kaggwa.

The killings scared the Christians and made them scattered into different parts of Buganda and Uganda from where they spread the gospel.

The massacres made the church to get many sympathizers which led to the expansion. E.g. the friends and relatives of the martyrs joined Christianity after seeing their beloved ones dying.

The death of the martyrs helped to reduce tension between Catholics and Protestants and created a short term unity between the two groups leading to the spread of Christianity.

Their death inspired other missionaries to come to Buganda to defend their counter parts in the spreading of the church.

The determination of the martyrs to die for their faith made the surviving Christians to endure all sorts of persecution during the spread of the good news.

It gave birth to future celebrations in remembrances of martyrs for example every 3^rd of June at Namugongo.

It increased the determination to the missionaries to stay in Buganda and spread the church everywhere.

It resulted into increased financial support to the missionaries from their home governments and they used this money to establish churches in different parts of East Africa.

The massacres inspired the surviving Christians to name churches after the Uganda martyrs and this has kept the church strong e.g. Uganda Martyrs church Namugongo.

Their death forced the British to come and declare Uganda a British protectorate and after, they gave protection to Christian missionaries which favoured the spread of the good news.

Negative effects

The death of the Uganda martyrs also hindered the spread of Christianity as shown below.

The killings reduced the number of Christians because 37 of them were killed hence reducing the number.

Some Baganda opted to join Islam because it had little conflicts with the kingdom hence hindering the spread of Christianity.

When the martyrs didn’t resurrect as expected, many Christians lost confidence and hope in Christianity thus backsliding.

Some Ugandans got scared of joining Christianity because they feared that Mwanga would kill them as he had killed the martyrs.

The massacres laid a foundation for the religious wars in Buganda which brought insecurity and hindered the spread of the gospel.

The killings scared some missionaries from coming to Buganda fearing that they would be killed by the Kabaka.

The killings increased conflicts between the missionaries and the Kabaka which reduced the time of preaching the missionaries had hence hindering the spread of the church.

Many Christians in Buganda got scared of spreading the gospel publicly fearing to be killed by Mwanga hence affecting the church negatively.