A History of Christianity in Uganda

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Mutesa let the Muslims, Catholics, and Protestants operate openly. His subjects were able to join the religion of their choice. It was a struggle to assert more influence and recognition among the influential officials in the king's court. He wouldn’t be circumcised so the Muslims denounced him and he wouldn’t give up polygamy, so the Christians wouldn’t baptize him. With that being the case the king never gave up his traditionalist ways. Up to this time reinforcements had been continually dispatched to Uganda by the Church Missionary Society.

- Kevin Ward, A History of Christianity in Uganda, http://www.dacb.org/history/a%20history%20of%20christianity%20in%20uganda.html.

- Church of Uganda, http://churchofuganda.org/about/history.

- Kevin Ward.

Shortly before Mutesa died, James Hannington would become the first Bishop of Uganda. At this time, the French missionaries were removed in 1882 and the Protestants seized the opportunity to push more towards the native population.10

Mutesa died unexpectedly at a young age and his son Mwanga took over the throne of his father. It was thought that he had favorable feelings towards the missionaries; at least he seemed to act as if this was so. He had even asked for more missionaries to be sent and for the Catholics to return. Within a couple of months after taking the throne, he denounced all religions destructive to his Kingdom. He felt, with good cause, that his powers and authority was dwindling under the influence of the missionaries and their converts. This general need to assert his authority led to the death of the first three Buganda Christians on January 31, 1885. “The young protestant martyrs, Makko Kakumba, Nuwa Serwanga and Yusuf Lugalama, were all members of the mission household. The missionaries were being warned against becoming a focus of political power or political discontent against the young Kabaka.”11 Later that same year, his troop’s massacred Anglican bishop James Hannington and the Africans traveling with him.

Mwanga’s homosexuality seemed to play a big part into what he did next. When the pages started to resists his advances, Mwanga felt humiliated. “Although homosexuality is abhorred among the Buganda, it was unheard of for mere pages to reject the wishes of a king. (It is alleged that Mwanga learnt or acquired homosexual behavior from the Arabs). Given those conflicting values Mwanga was determined to rid his kingdom of the new teaching and its followers.”12

- A. F. Mockler-Ferryman, Christianity in Uganda, Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 2, No. 7 (Apr., 1903), pg. 280, Published by: Oxford University Press.

- Kevin Ward, A History of Christianity in Uganda, http://www.dacb.org/history/a%20history%20of%20christianity%20in%20uganda.html.

- Mukasa E. Ssemakula., Buganda.com, http://www.buganda.com/martyrs.html.

This brings us to Joseph Mukasa, a member of the royal family that became a catholic covert. He was given the nickname of "Balikuddembe", meaning they will have peace, by king Mutesa. He rebuked the king for the killing of Hannington without a hearing, as the custom called for. Under Mwange, Mukasa was in charge of the pages and hid them when the king was attracted to them. This upset the king, the idea that his lust wasn’t being fed, lit a fire in him. It was suggested, by Prime Minister Katikiro a pagan, that Joseph was the leader of the young Christians and that he should be killed. Mwanga agreed and on November 15, 1885, Mukasa was executed. But before he was behead, he said, "Katikiro is having me killed unjustly."13 He left a message loud and clear when was killed, he lived under a king who wanted complete authority, but he took a stand with King Jesus. After the execution of Mukasa, it seemed like the floodgates were opened to murdering converts. In May of 1886, Mwanga ordered the converts to choose between following their new belief or his orders. Trying to change the direction of losing authority, those that didn’t follow would be put to death. “The execution of twenty six Christians at Namugongo on June 3, 1886; was the climax of the campaign against the converts. The last person killed in this crusade, was Jean-Marie Muzeeyi, who was beheaded at Mengo on Jan 27, 1887.” 14

While trying to do away with the older chiefs, Mwanga started to encourage the young converts again, for he was fearful that the chieftains were becoming too powerful. While trying to get rid of them, a coup was began and Mwanga was overthrown for trying to get rid of them in 1888, by the united forces of the new religions. “The new leaders were soon quarreling among themselves. The Muslims, as the most powerful group in terms of numbers and fire power, were

- Christianity.com, http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/mukasa-beheaded-in-uganda-11630610.html.

- Mukasa E. Ssemakula.,Buganda.com, http://www.buganda.com/martyrs.html.

able to oust the Christian groups, who in October 1888 fled to Kabula. The Muslims proceeded to establish a Muslim state. They circumcised their Kabaka, Kalema, the brother of Mwanga they put into power, and called him 'sheikh'. They envisaged a radical reordering of society along Islamic lines.”15 “At this stage the survival of Christianity seemed to depend entirely on questions of military and political power. The Christian exiles made overtures to Mwanga to restore him as their Kabaka. They also made a tactical alliance with traditionalists fighting the Muslim regime, since many traditionalists were alienated by the harshness of Muslim rule and its radical attempt to overturn traditional society. By the end of 1889 the Christian forces had managed, at least temporarily, to defeat the Muslims.”16

This work covers the beginning of Christianity in Uganda. It doesn’t cover all the bloodshed that occurred in the country, for many persecutions happened. Some of us, me included, saw the latest persecution of Christians in Uganda when in the 1970’s Idi Amin brought it back to the country. Still, like in the beginning, Christians stood up to the torture and death they were threatened with. The early martyrs are still deeply instilled into the fabric of their faith and revival is still strong and alive in Uganda. “Today, 36% of the 30 million people of Uganda are Anglicans, and 56% are eighteen years old and younger.”17 It is my hope that we, in America, can once again have a revival just like Uganda has had all these years. The Lord knows we need it.

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