Sacred journey into the Uganda martyrs’ legacy

“Their coming brought the spread of Christianity, transforming lives of young men and women, leading them to abandon their traditional lifestyle, something that was seen as a threat to the kingdom of Buganda,” Rev Egayu recounts

Here are some of the wonders at the Namugongo Museum.

The museum

Located on the right side of the main gate of the Uganda Martyrs Anglican Church, the museum is built with well-polished reeds, which serve as the walls and ceiling, particularly noticeable at the reception. On one of the walls is a stone which Pope Francis laid. It is shaped like the African continent map with Uganda prominently marked, along with inscribed words. As you climb the stairs to the main hall, the site where the executions took place, you cannot miss several photo frames mounted on the wall featuring various bishops and missionaries.  When the 26 martyrs arrived at Namugongo, it is believed they were imprisoned in a small room, which was also guarded at the entrance.

This room faces directly the site where they would later be executed. The prisoners, exhausted, sat with their hands and legs tightly tied to logs. As the executions began, the learners were picked one by one to be tortured, while those left behind in the prison were forced to watch. Despite the horror and trauma, their faith remained unshaken, as they stayed strong and did not beg for mercy. Meanwhile, the chief executioner, Mukajanga and his advisors remained at the command post, awaiting the seven days they had allocated to gather firewood and sharpen the tools needed for the executions. During this time, Mukajanga called one of the prisoners, his nephew and urged him to renounce Christianity. When he refused, Mukajanga was enraged. He executed him by striking him on the head with a heavy load, causing him to collapse and die instantly, to spare him the prolonged suffering that others endured.

Torture tree

The torture tree, where the execution of the martyrs took place, is strategically located at the far right of the museum. The Rev Egayu explains that the site has been fenced off with metal to prevent visitors who often flock to the area from damaging or even causing the extinction of the tree. Many used to break off pieces, believing they were blest and capable of performing miracles. There are several statues depicting the intense suffering the martyrs endured from morning to evening at the hands of the chief executioner and his henchmen. Here, martyrs were tied up, some had ropes placed around their necks to be hanged, others were dismembered, castrated, or had sticks and spears driven into their chests.

Some had their stomachs cut open and their intestines left hanging. The ground under the tree is also made of dry grass and carries the memory of their spilt blood. The torture tree famously known as ‘Ndazabazadde’ tree which translates to mean ‘inside the womb of a woman,’ or ‘the suffering children bring to their parents’ was specifically chosen for its symbolic and physical suitability for the executions. Though it still stands in its natural form today, its roots have dried up and it no longer flowers. To preserve it, it is regularly sprayed to protect it from insect infestation.  Remarkably, the tree features three distinct stems that grow separately but intertwine partway up to form a single trunk. It stands as a solemn witness to the bloodshed of the Uganda Martyrs.

Burning place

In the evening, when the soldiers were also tired from the execution, they prepared to set up a fireplace. They prepared the firewood they had collected and set it in a circular form. They then tied the dead bodies that were lying around the torture tree and wrapped them in sticks of dry reeds, and these were to serve as fuel.  For those who were still alive and seated in the prison, these were also brought out and wrapped in reeds, laid on top of the firewood with the dead bodies, in such a way that their legs faced each other in a circular form, with their heads facing outwards. The aim was to make the centre the point of lighting so that the fire starts burning from the legs, and those burnt alive also die gradually in pain. 

Egayu says the soldiers did not leave any piece of firewood because they believed that those who believe in Christ can resurrect, while they assured that this resurrection was in the body, they ensured all the firewood so that their bodies would burn to ashes. However, the ceiling of the museum is designed with ‘clouds’ showing the heavens open, and angels coming through to pick the souls of the martyrs and leading them to heaven. Therefore, during the burning, the martyrs are believed to have been singing and rejoicing like they were not in pain.

Thus, the belief that they might have seen the heavens open and angels ushering their souls into heaven. It is from this act that even Mukajanga also gave his life to Christ and died a Christian. It is on this day that the killing of people ended. Although after the killing, the soldiers went down a few metres out of the museum, to a well where they washed their bodies and tools, and this is the place that people today often fetch the water from that they refer to as ‘blessed water’.

The first church

For those who had survived the killings, Daudi Chwa recruited them and promoted them to the Kingdom. Among them was Tefero Kisosonkole who was appointed the Prime Minister of Buganda and also awarded land by the King, covering areas such as Kira, Namugongo, Kireka and Bukerere. In 1935, it was in Namugongo where he built the first church in Uganda, which is found on the left wing of the museum. Apart from the electronics, all the other elements including the chairs, tables have been existing since this day. Inside the church, he collected the remains of the martyrs and buried them there. The museum also has other artefacts of the different missionaries and their work that they did to develop the country, including introducing cash crops such as coffee, tea, education, churches and hospitals.