The Uganda Martyrs were killed by King Mwanga II of Buganda in 1885 and 1886 because they refused to give up their Christian faith. They were killed on orders of Mwanga II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda. The deaths took place at a time when there was a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court.
.Lying 15 Kilometres east of Kampala off Jinja Road, Namugongo was formerly a place of execution of all people who committed grave offences in the Kingdom of Buganda. It is here that 14 of the 22 Uganda Martyrs offered their life to Christ (burnt alive), on the orders of king Mwanga in 1886, having refused to denounce their Christian faith. Following the Holocaust of these Martyrs which reached a climax on 3rd June, 1886 Namugongo has steadily taken on the image of attraction as a place of pilgrimage, as God simultaneously has honoured them before Believers. And the place in Africa two popes visited pope John Paul II and pope Francis.
Many of the martyrs were pages in the Kabaka’s palace while others were working in chiefs’ homesteads. Each family was selecting very hardworking boys, well behaved too, to go and work for the King. It was also a sign of showing loyalty to the King as it was prestigious to work for the King.
There are twenty four (24) Uganda Catholic Martyrs, twenty two killed between 1885 and 1887 under the orders of Kabaka (King) Mwanga of Buganda and two killed in 1918 in Paimol, in Northern Uganda.
Most of the twenty two Martyrs were pages in the king’s palace before they were killed by their master and king. Thirteen of these were burnt to death at Namugongo now the martyrs shrine and nine killed in other different places of the country in Buganda region.
In Namugongo, the Uganda martyrs were confined for about a week before execution, in that time, the executioners went about with preparatory activities like collection of enough fire wood and cutting of reeds to be used in the event, this took until 2nd of June.
The 3rd of June 1886, on the feast of the ascension, Charles Lwanga became the first victim of holocaust, Ssenkoole, the Guardian of the sacred fused had singled him out, following the traditional procedure of a ritual execution, which prohibited his (Ssenkoole) presence at the actual scene of a large execution but rather expected to select one victim and burn him apart from the others.
Ssenkoole took Charles Lwanga to a spot about fifty yards from the road, he (Charles) was allowed to arrange his own death-bed of firewood. Then wrapped in reeds laid on the pyre and was burnt slowly from the foot to the head at about midday, 3rd June 1886.
The first to be martyred on 15th November 1885 was the King’s major domo and Christian leader, Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe. He was killed because he had pleaded with the king not to kill Bishop James Hannington, an Anglican Missionary, who had made an attempt to enter Buganda from east, then considered to be the backdoor of the kingdom. Joseph was beheaded and burnt at Nakivubo swamp, at the Kampala City center now days Owino Market.
The main persecution that led to the Namugongo Holocaust broke out on 25th May 1886 at Munyonyo, then a royal enclosure near Lake Victoria when King Mwanga condemned Christians to death With the Spearing and condemning to death Denis Ssebuggwawo. He (Denis) was killed on the following and the same day as Andrew Kaggwa.
On the 26th of May 1886, as a ceremonial opening of the death-march, Pontian Ngondwe was speared by Mukaajanga, the chief executioner, his corpse hacked and pieces scattered to all directions at Ttabataba, now known as Ttaka Jjunge, about a mile from Munyonyo on the way to Mengo.
The morning of 27th May 1886 at Mengo, Athanasius Bazzekuketta who was thirsty for martyrdom, volunteered to be executed at a spot on the foot of Mengo Hill where Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, his leader had been martyred earlier.
On the same day, while at Old Kampala on his way from Mengo to Namugongo, Mathias Kalemba Mulumba refused to walk further in demand for execution. His hands were cut off first, fresh removed from his back and roasted then his legs cut off, blood vessels and veins tired, and traditional herbs applied to wounds to stop him from over bleeding. He died three days later from thirst.
Tired on their necks and feet to another by the cords by the stocks, the Uganda martyrs had to walk for over ten miles to reach Namugongo. But about a mile from their destination, Gonzaga Gonza who could hardly keep up with the pace collapsed at Lubaawo hill, he was speared at about midday on 27th May 1886.
Some of the martyrs who killed at Namugongo were; Achilles Kiwanuka, Adolphus Mukasa Ludigo, Ambrose Kibuuka, Anatoli Kiriggwajjo, Bruno Sserunkuuma, Gyavira, James Buzaalilyawo, Kizito, Luke Banabakintu, Mbaaga Tuzinde, Muggaga and Mukasa Kiriwawanvu are the twelve catholic that were burnt in the great namugongo holocaust together with thirteen Anglicans and six other prisoner that were on death sentence for other offences other than religion.
The other who were killed outside Namugongo include; Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe and Atthanasius Bazzekuketta, at the city of Kampala (St. Balikuddembe Market), Denis Ssebuggwaawo and Andrew Kaggwa, killed at Munyonyo, Pontian Ngondwe killed at Kyamula (Ttakajjunge), Matthias Kalemba Mulumba killed at Old Kampala, Noe Mawaggali killed at Kiyinda-Mityana, Gonzaga Gonza killed at Kamuli-Lubaawo and lastly John Mary Muzeeyi killed at Mmengo-Kisenyi.
Thirty one years after the Namugongo holocaust, two young Christians from the Acholi people of northern Uganda, Daudi Okello, a chatecist and ILDO lLWA an assistant were martyred by a party of raiders. They were dragged from their hut and pushed to the ground, speared several times on 18th of October 1918 at midnight. Their bodies were not buried until later by the local community.
Six months later, three Christians, Matayo (Matthew) Kirevu, Bwaliri Kamya and Lewo (Leo) Lwanga amid fears of being charged with treason, in cover of the night went to Namugongo and collected the remains of St. Charles Lwanga. By 8:00am of the following day the trio had delivered the bones to Fr. Simeon Lourdel at the mission where they were cleaned and wrapped in a red cloth, put in a copper case and buried in the sacristy of the church at Nabulagala.
After the death of the Christians in Namugongo, the executioners hanged around the scene adding more firewood to the fires to ensure that the victims’ remains were consumed to ashes. However, their efforts were in vain and it was not so long before they abandoned the scene with some of them giving up their duties as executioners.
Although the execution of the Uganda Martyrs marked the end of the use of the village of Namugongo as an execution ground, the remains of the Christians were left unburied because movements around Namugongo were rendered unlawful and also victims of the king’s anger were considered unworthy for decent burials; persons that buried such victims were consider traitors.
However, after the mission was deserted because of the religious wars, the location the box was lost since the church had been burnt down and parish turned in to a bush.
On 13th of November 1892, a catechist who was digging his garden recovered the box which was taken to Tangayika by Msgr. Hirth, 1899, and when Buganda stabilized politically, the box containing the remains (later relics) was returned by Msgr. Henry Streicher who was the Archbishop of Buganda.
From 1915, the remains were stored at the Archbishop’s chapel, then in 1964 taken to Rome for the canonization ceremony. When the current Martyrs Shrine was built, part of these relics was returned to Namugongo for veneration. The relic hangs in a glass at the front of the Altar in the Shrine.
The Pavilion (Island) in the lake is another unique feature at Namugongo with a clear view that can be seen from all angles of the over 15 acres Shrine compound. It is inside this pavilion where the main celebrant sits on big occasions like Martyrs’ day, June 3. This grass thatched pavilion, also in circular form like the Shrine is supported by 4 pillars and can accommodate more than 300 Priests and a number of Bishops that turn for the High Mass on Martyrs Day.
Remembering the work executed by st. Charles lwanga when still a page in King Mwanga’s palace, when he spearheaded the excavation of the legendary Kabaka’s lake at Mengo, a Martyrs’ Lake was excavated at Namugongo. Many Pilgrims have often drawn water from this Lake and later given testimonies about this water healing them of various diseases.
