The men who changed  the face of Namugongo

Mr Francis Muwonge, the administrator of Namugongo Minor Basilica, explains that the Catholic shrine at Namugongo had humble beginnings. It started with the creation of a grass-thatched church at Kyaliwajjala in the sub-parish of Nsambya, where Vienna Academy currently stands.

He says later, an independent parish was instituted at Namugongo where the Basilica currently sits.
When the 22 Roman Catholic martyrs were collectively beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, there was—remarkably—no physical monument or memorial for them in their native country. The 22 were executed at the behest of Kabaka Mwanga between 1885 and 1886. 

Shortly after their beatification, Fr Stephen Walters—a Dutch Catholic Mill-Hill priest—led a few Catholic faithful in making a pilgrimage from Nsambya to Namugongo in honour of the 22 Roman Catholic martyrs. 

Mr Muwonge further tells Saturday Monitor that in 1935, Fr Walters bought eight acres of land in Namugongo. He cherry-picked the exact spot where St Charles Lwanga was martyred. To date, this is the home of the Catholic shrine. The shrine was later elevated to parish level and was run by Fr Peter Van Rooyen. Later, Msgr Lawrence Mbwega would become the first Ugandan parish priest of Namugongo Parish.

Msgr Mbwega was among the Ugandans who attended the pronunciation of 22 Catholic martyrs in Rome, Italy, in 1969. This was after they had been canonised by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964. 

Man-made lake
During the 25 years Msgr Mbwega spent at the Namugongo shrine, he contributed to a couple of projects. For starters, he headed a group of Christians who helped in the construction of an artificial lake that was dug adjacent to the Catholic shrine from 1954 to 1980.
“He engineered the construction of Martyrs Lake at Namugongo where people draw water from,” Mr Muwonge explains.
In addition to the lake, he spearheaded the tree planting project that started with 22 trees in honour of the martyrs.
Other improvements on the lake were done by Cyprian Kizito Lwanga when he was still the Chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese.
Msgr Mbwega, who is said to have been the longest serving priest in Uganda, died in 2010 aged 98 at Nsambya Hospital.

Minor Basilica
In 1967, Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga, then archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, decided to build a befitting martyrs’ monument at the site. According to the International Bulletin of Mission Research, as Archbishop of Kampala between 1966 and 1990, Nsubuga hosted the first papal visit to sub-Saharan Africa in 1969. He also, for good measure, started what is now the largest pilgrimage destination in East Africa—the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine.
Designed to look like an African hut, and wrapped around 22 copper pillars signifying the 22 Catholic martyrs, with a white cap on top, the shrine’s structural outlook is the handiwork of Nsubuga.
The eight-year building project began in 1967. It was Roko Construction Company’s first major project in Uganda. On June 3, 1975, it was officially opened by His Eminence Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli in presence of thousands of pilgrims, including President Idi Amin.

Namugongo was officially declared a minor Basilica on February 7, 1993, when Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage to Uganda.
Cardinal Nsubuga, who after his consecration on October 30, 1966, became the first ordinary (a person possessing or exercising ordinary jurisdiction) of the newly created Archdiocese of Kampala, passed away on April 20, 1991. Blood and bone cancer had seen him checked into a hospital in Cologne, Germany.

Lwanga’s legacy
Much as Lwanga had contributed to the development of Namugongo as the chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese, his most acknowledged project is the redevelopment of Namugongo. Dubbed “Yoyoota Namugongo”, Lwanga launched the project in 2014 ahead of the papal visit.

Before his death in April of 2021, Lwanga had embarked on a project to elevate the shrine to a global status. The project, that is still ongoing, is intended to construct three pavilions, a 100-car parking lot, dormitories, museum, a gallery, offices, an ultra-sized walkway, among others.

Mr Muwonge says Lwanga’s project was valued at Shs44 billion. A lot of work, he added, was done to give the Catholic shrine a facelift.
Ahead of Pope John Paul II’s 1993 visit, Lwanga—who was then the chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese—expanded the man-made lake at the shrine at the instruction of Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, who was then the archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese.

The Nkoyoyo effect
The journey of Namugongo Anglican Martyrs site’s redevelopment began in 2013 under the leadership of the late Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo. The development was aimed at turning the site into a faith-based world class pilgrimage centre that can host more visitors beyond the annual Martyrs Day celebrations held every June 3.
The late Nkoyoyo is renowned for doing commendable work in the Church. He was the vision bearer and implementer of the Uganda Martyrs Museum Project, which currently is the face of the Anglican Martyrs Shrine.

A dedicated leader, Nkoyoyo led the Anglican community when he started mobilising funds and constructed the Martyrs Museum, which interestingly highlights the story of all the 45 martyrs (22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans)—a greater number of whom were also killed together at the Anglican Shrine in 1886.
Just as he wished, Nkoyoyo was buried in a simple grave at a site that he had dedicated his final years to improving in 2018.

Muslim martyrs’ shrines
A Shs13 billion budget for Namugongo Muslim Martyrs site was recently unveiled by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC). It fronts the erection of a new mosque at the Muslim martyrs site in Namugongo. According to Prof Badru Kateregga, the chairperson of the Namugongo Muslim Martyrs site construction committee, the budget will soon be presented to the government for approval.

It is understood that Ssekabaka Muteesa I ordered the murder of the Muslims (now martyrs), who defied him, saying the king, who insisted on leading prayers, was not qualified to do so because he was not circumcised.  Nearly a hundred Muslims were mutilated, tortured and burnt to death on the orders of Kabaka Muteesa I at Namugongo, Nateete, Mulungu, Namungoona and other places.

Background 
The history
The Namugongo shrines were first recognised by the Late Joshua Serufusa-Zake (1884 - 25 June 1985) when he was the Sabaddu of Kira Sub-county (1827-1928). Joshua Serufusa-Zake constructed a structure at the Namugongo site, where it appears shrines were built later for prayer.

Before that, the place had been gazetted in 1760 by the 25th Kabaka of Buganda, Ssekabaka Kyabaggu, as an execution venue.
Namugongo is located in Kyaliwajjala, Kira Municipality in Wakiso District, approximately 16km from Kampala. Every year on June 3, pilgrims from all over the world gather at the shrine to commemorate the day when young palace pages were burnt to death on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga for refusing to renounce Christianity.

The martyrs
Twenty-three Anglican and 22 Catholic martyrs were executed between November 1885 and January 1887. Twelve of the 22 Catholic martyrs were burnt to death at Namugongo. On June 3, 1886, during the feast of the ascension, Charles Lwanga became the first victim of martyrdom. 

Ssenkoole, the guardian of the sacred, had singled Lwanga out, following the traditional procedure of a ritual execution, which prohibited his (Ssenkoole) presence at the actual scene of a large execution but rather expected him to select one victim and burn him apart from the others.
 

Priests who have served in the Namugongo shrine

Name    
Fr Peter Van Rooyen
Fr Beirmans
Fr William Wheately
Christian Bunck
Fr John Queigley
Fr Henry Bone
Fr Mazagg
Msgr Joseph Ssebayigga
Msgr Joseph Obunga
Msgr Joseph Mukasa
Msgr Charles Kato Katongole
Fr Deogratias Ssonko
Fr Denis Ssebuggwaawo
Fr Rev Dr Emmanuel Kimbowa

Sub-parishes under Namugongo Minor Basilica
Ten O’clock Sub-parish
St Pontiano Mbalwa Sub-parish
St Anthony of Padua Sub-parish, Kira
Kitukutwe Sub-parish
Bulindo Sub-parish
Nsasa Sub-parish
John Paul Sub-parish
Jjanda Sub-parish