Mass at the Catholic Shrine. Picture: Morgan Mbabazi
The morning breeze blows as a queue of men, women and children, snakes through the valleys and slopes of Nakiyanja.
Nakiyanja is the original name of Namugongo, the site where 25 young pages from the royal court of King Mwanga of Buganda — and the first Christian converts, both Catholic and Protestants, in the kingdom — were executed between 1885 and 1887 on the orders of the king.
Folklore has it that the name Namugongo is from the Luganda word “omugongo,” which means the back, alluding to the torture of being dragged on their backs, that the martyrs were subjected to.
Originally, Namugongo was an execution site for criminals, especially those from the royal family and people of high status. The site is said to have been set up by King Kyabaggu who reigned around 1760 and the June 3, 1886 execution of the 13 Protestant and 12 Catholic youths by King Mwanga was the last. The 25 pages were tortured and burnt at the stake for refusing to renounce their Christian faith.
Hundreds of pilgrims from around the world flock to the shrine seeking divine healing through prayers, holy water and soil from the shrine. The water comes from the Mukajjanga well — named after the chief executioner — and is believed to be holy.
According to ordinate Peter Ouma, who is studying to be a priest at the Namugongo Seminary, after the 25 young men were executed, the executioners washed their hands in a nearby swamp.
“Christians believe that the well formed from the swamp immediately the 25 were martyred, and that the water is holy because the blood of the staunch young martyrs stained the water. Before their execution, the young men had been sent to cut reeds from the same swamp, in which they were wrapped and burnt,” says Ouma.
Among the pilgrims this year was Jason Rwegasira a teacher at Uhuru Secondary School in Shinyanga, Tanzania, who spent about Tsh200,000 ($114) to make the pilgrimage. “I have read and taught about Namugongo in history class, and so I decided to make the journey,” says Rwegasira.
“I learnt from other pilgrims that the water here is holy. That it cures diseases, bring harmony to troubled marriages and good fortune in homes.” He had with him a five-litre jerrican for taking away holy water from the Mukajjanga well for friends and relatives back in Shinyanga.
Rwegasira travelled to Namugongo in a group of 49 pilgrims from the Central Church of Ngokoro in Shinyanga. They spent about 20 hours on the road.
His journey to Namugongo was even more significant as it coincided with celebrations to mark Martyrs Day on June 1, marked by prayers for the beatification of Tanzania’s founding father Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
Jane Odemwinge from Kano, Nigeria was making her second pilgrimage to Namugongo. As a businesswoman, Odemwinge believes that wealth without the blessings and recognition of the Holy Ghost amounts to nothing.
“Although very few Nigerian Christians visit Namugongo because the trip is expensive, the shrine is revered as a centre of Christianity in Africa. We know that the martyrs died because of their strong faith in Jesus Christ and I have come here to seek their blessings,” she said.
She took away 10 litres of the holy water and two kilogrammes of soil. The soil is scooped from under the Ndazabazzadde tree, the exact spot where the martyrs were tortured as they held onto the tree, and it is believed their blood and sweat soaked the soil and the tree.
Pilgrims scoop soil from under the tree and also strip off the tree bark. The soil is mixed with the holy water and people bathe, drink or sprinkle on their bodies and homes. The bark of the tree is either burnt to ash or crashed and mixed with the holy water.
Ouma says the remains of the 25 martyrs were buried 50 years later in 1935 and a year later, an Anglican church was built on their mass grave, which is also the site of their killing. The altar of the church at the Anglican Shrine is built on top of the martyrs’ grave. A kilometre away, stands the Catholic Shrine, where Saint Charles Lwanga, who was the leader of the 25 pages, was killed. It is believed that Lwanga was separated from the rest of the pages by Senkoole, the assistant chief executioner and burnt in a slow fire at the current site of Catholic Shrine.
“Apparently, St Lwanga got tired after being dragged on his back from Munyonyo where he was arrested together with the other 25 pages and he requested Senkoole to kill him at the spot where the Catholic Shrine stands,” explained Ouma.
Lwanga’s altar at the basilica marks the spot where he was killed. A pool of water stands at the Catholic Shrine whose origin Ouma says is a mystery as there are various beliefs and theories. “Some people believe that when Lwanga was killed and his head touched the ground, water gushed out from the ground, and is believed to be holy,” he said.
The history of the Uganda martyrs is steeped in political, social and religious factors. When King Mwanga ascended to the Buganda throne in 1884, he felt politically threatened by the presence of Christian missionaries as many of his courtiers converted.
He decided to wipe out Christians and the faith from his kingdom.
