St Charles Lwanga and companions (d.1885-6) the Uganda martyrs
Context of colonisation and missionary activity
Although
directly the Uganda martyrs were the victims of a cruel dictator,
indirectly they were also the victims of the fear of loss of a way of
life felt by native societies when colonisers and missionaries move in.
The Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) were the first
Catholic missionaries to reach southern Uganda in 1879.
They were well
received by the king, Mtesa, and the mission flourished till he died in
1884.
King Mwanga
His 18 year old son, Mwanga, then
became king and though he had attended a mission school, he had not
succeeded - for whatever reason - to learn to read and write, which did
not help his self-esteem.
Exploiting the fear of cultural change, the
traditional advisors told him the ancestors were angry at how foreigners
were taking over the country.
First victim: an Anglican bishop
His first victim
was an Anglican bishop, James Hannington, who when travelling to Uganda
passed through land closed to white people.
He was seized on the
pretext of spying and, after keeping him for a week as a trophy, Mwanga
had him killed.
The king was drinking heavily, smoking hemp and given to
homosexuality, which he is said to have learned from white traders.
First indigenous victims - new converts, the pages of the king
At
Mwanga's court there were a number of Christian converts who acted as
pages.
Their leader was Joseph Makasa, a newly converted Catholic.
He
tried to defend the younger pages from the advances of the new king.
He
also rebuked the king openly for the murder of Bishop Hannington. He was
beheaded on 15 November 1885.
Charles Lwanga, another Catholic, took over as master of the pages and for a time protected them from the desires of the king.
One day, however, King Mwanga called one of his pages named Mwafu and
asked him what he had been doing that kept him away from Mwanga.
He
replied that he had been receiving religious instruction from Denis
Sebuggwawo.
Denis was summoned to the king who killed him, thrusting a
spear through his throat.
Massacre at Namugongo
Alerted by this
catechetical activity, the king ordered all the pages to be rounded up.
The Christians were separated from the others and asked if they intended
to remain Christians and when they all said they did, Mwanga ordered
them to be taken to a traditional place of sacrifice 37 miles away
called Namugongo and put to death.
Three were killed en route. When the
others arrived they were forced to construct a pyre on which they were
burned alive, a huge group of Catholics and Protestants, boys and men.
Among them was Charles Lwanga and the youngest was a thirteen year old
boy whom he had baptised - Kizito, who went to his death "laughing and
chattering".
Other victims whose names are known were Matthias Murumba, a
judge, and Andrew Kagwa, a prominent catechist.
Blood of martyrs the seed of Christians
Of the
martyrs that could be formally accounted for, twenty-two were Catholics
and twenty-three Anglicans.
These massacres led to a great increase in
converts to Christianity.
The Catholic martyrs were beatified in 1920
and canonised in 1964 during the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI.
He later in 1969 was the first pope to visit the Catholic shrine at
Namugongo.
Prayer
Father, you have made the blood of the martyrs the seed of Christians.
May the witness of St Charles and his companions
and their loyalty to Christ in the face of torture
inspire countless men and women to live the Christian faith.
May the witness of St Charles and his companions
and their loyalty to Christ in the face of torture
inspire countless men and women to live the Christian faith.