Ugandan Christians honor archbishop killed by dictator
Visitors at Luwum’s grave in Mucwini. Photo by John Semakula.
MUCWINI, Uganda — Thousands of Christians gathered in northern Uganda on Sunday to commemorate the death of Archbishop Janani Luwum, who was killed in 1977 for speaking out against Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
At the service in Mucwini, the late clergyman’s home village, outgoing Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali implored Christians to emulate Luwum’s dedication to his faith.
“We have so many challenges in our families and communities that sometimes we contemplate giving up, but let’s not tire from doing good,” he said.
It was Luwum’s dedication to goodness that ran him afoul of Amin. He was appointed Archbishop of the Metropolitan Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga (in Zaire) in 1974, the second African to hold the position. Luwum was among the most influential church leaders on the continent. He was also a prominent critic of Amin’s regime.
He sent a note of protest to Amin in 1977 over the government’s policy of kidnapping and killing dissidents. Amin had seized power in 1971 and ruled Uganda with brutality until 1979, killing more than half a million people in that time.
Luwum and two cabinet ministers were arrested on Feb. 16, 1977 and accused of treason. They were dead the next day, reportedly killed in a car crash while they were being transported for interrogation. A human rights commission later determined they were beaten in an army barracks and shot by a close associate of Amin’s.
Luwum is recognized as a martyr by the Anglican Communion and the Church of England.
Bishops of the Anglican Church of Uganda at the Janani Luwum Day ceremony on Feb. 16. Photo by John Semakula.
Leaders in England had offered him safe haven when it became clear he was in danger, according to Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, whose remarks were read at the ceremony by Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
“Janani Luwum had a heart for a just society. That is why he made his criticism against Amin public,” Museveni said in his statement. “Luwum never wanted to live outside Uganda when his people were being brutalized by Amin.”
Museveni described Luwum’s death as a tragedy that rallied the world against Amin’s reign of terror. The year after the murder, Amin ordered an attack on neighboring Tanzania. His forces were beaten back by the Tanzanian military, which united with Ugandan nationalists and forced Amin out of power in 1979.
Amin fled to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003.
Uganda declared Feb. 16 a national holiday in Luwum’s honor in 2015. The annual celebration in Mucwini is preceded by a two-week pilgrimage from Kampala, the capital, 500 kilometers south. It was led by another native of Mucwini, Olara Otunnu, the Ugandan politician and former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. He published a biography of Luwum in 2015.
Ntagali presented Otunnu with a certificate of recognition at the service.
During his sermon, Ntagali urged Christians to extend kindness not only to those who are good to them, but to people who need it the most. He criticized the commercialization of the gospel in Africa, arguing that religious leaders should preach about transformation, not money.
He also spoke about responsibility for the natural world. “God gave us a wonderful environment, but we have mismanaged it and hence defiled our God-given treasure,” he said. “We must find a way of protecting it.”
At the sermon’s end, he invited attendees who wanted to commit their lives to Christ to come forward. Hundreds did, and he prayed for them.
John Semakula is a Kampala-based correspondent for Religion Unplugged. He also reports for New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper.