Ebola Outbreak Forces Postponement Of Massive Religious Pilgrimage
MUKONO, Uganda — The Ugandan government has announced the postponement of this year’s Uganda Martyrs’ Day celebrations, scheduled for June 3, in response to an Ebola outbreak affecting both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has claimed nearly 200 lives thus far.
In a May 17 announcement, President Yoweri Museveni announced the postponement of celebrations to a later date to mitigate the risk of Ebola transmission.
“We have decided to postpone the Martyrs’ Day to a later date, which will be communicated,” said President Museveni in the statement. “This decision was made because Uganda receives thousands of pilgrims annually from Eastern Congo, which is currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak. To safeguard everyone’s lives, it’s essential that this important event be postponed.”
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He said the decision was reached in consultations with the national epidemic task force and senior clergy. Uganda Martyrs Day is among the continent's largest annual Christian gatherings, drawing hundreds of thousands to several million pilgrims from Uganda, East and Central Africa and beyond.
In Uganda, June 3rd is a public holiday to enable Christians to participate in the celebrations. It is one of many public events, including religious festivals, that are being canceled or postponed in Africa due to Ebola.
The government has confirmed that the day will remain a public holiday, despite this year’s public celebrations being postponed.
Uganda Martyrs’ Day commemorates 45 Christian converts — 22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans — who were executed between 1885 and 1887 on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda for refusing to renounce their faith. The young Christian converts refused to renounce their faith and were executed while singing hymns. The story that tells about the faith and resilience of the Uganda Martyrs has become central to the spread of Christianity in Africa and beyond.
The annual celebrations take place at the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine in Namugongo, Wakiso District, in Central Uganda, featuring two large parallel Masses for Catholic and Anglican congregations, attended by prominent political and religious figures. Thousands of Christians who undertake the pilgrimage to the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine often seek miracles, including healing or improved employment opportunities.
The Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations also draw hundreds of vendors selling merchandise and food, including beer, grilled chicken and pork, to serve the pilgrims. When Museveni announced the postponement of this year’s celebrations, at least 1,500 pilgrims from the eastern DRC had already entered Kasese District in Southwestern Uganda to begin their pilgrimage. Museveni said he was sorry for the inconvenience the postponement had caused them, particularly pilgrims who had already begun the pilgrimage.
Uganda, which shares its western border with the DRC, reported its first case of the Ebola Bundibugyo Disease outbreak on May 5, when the Ministry of Health confirmed the death of a 59-year-old Congolese man. He died on May 14.
The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the DRC a “public health emergency of international concern” after the death of 90 people, mainly Congolese, from the virus. Health officials have warned that this Ebola outbreak poses a high regional risk, especially after the confirmation of a case in Uganda. The United States and some other Western countries have advised their citizens to avoid travel to Uganda, the DRC and South Sudan, including for the annual Martyrs’ Day celebrations, due to the Ebola outbreak.
The government has recommended several steps to help contain the Ebola transmission. These include avoiding physical contact with anyone exhibiting symptoms, washing hands regularly, and maintaining hand hygiene. Other measures are avoiding bodily fluids such as urine, blood, sweat, saliva and stool. Common symptoms of Ebola are fatigue, sudden fever, chest pain, diarrhea, vomiting, unexpected bleeding and yellowing of the eyes.
Catholics and Anglicans agree with the decision
Complying with the government’s decision to postpone the celebrations, the Catholic and Anglican Church leaders in Uganda have issued guidelines for observing the day without the usual pomp of large public gatherings. In a pastoral statement on May 18, the Catholic bishops of Uganda advised the faithful to commemorate the day by organizing liturgical celebrations in each diocese and parish, while strictly following the Ministry of Health’s Ebola guidelines.
Bishop Anthony Zziwa of the Kiyinda-Mityana Diocese, who signed the statement, emphasized that despite the postponement of the physical celebrations, Uganda Martyrs’ Day remains a significant occasion for the church to honor the martyrs' exemplary witness of faith and courage.
The Catholic bishops encouraged their community to dedicate the day to prayer for Uganda, its health workers, and all those affected by the Ebola outbreak. They urged their congregations to remain calm, united and hopeful, embodying the martyrs’ enduring legacy of fidelity to Christ, love, sacrifice and truth.
This year, the Kasese Diocese had taken the lead in coordinating the national Martyrs’ Day celebrations and initiated a fundraising campaign to support transport, accommodation and liturgical preparations. Notably, contributions have already begun to come in, particularly from the government.
The Anglican Church of Uganda, in a different statement, confirmed its compliance with the government’s directive to postpone the physical celebrations and urged Christians, pilgrims, dioceses and organizing committees nationwide to adhere to the new measures implemented to contain Ebola.
The statement, signed by the Provincial Secretary of the Anglican Church of Uganda, the Rev. Can. William Ongeng, assured the congregation that the church would continue to engage with the central government and health authorities to explore possible alternative arrangements for organizing the Uganda Martyrs’ Day celebrations.
John Semakula, an award-winning journalist and alumnus of the Poynter Institute, is based in Mukono, Uganda.