You have an option not to believe and so that you are released but you insist to walk to death?
Mukajanga the commander of the killers it is said was a man of a few words. His word was final and rather tough. The introduction of Christianity in Buganda (Uganda) came along with death. The converts to this new religion had a choice; to obey the new King (Kabaka), denounce the new religion and gain freedom or to maintain their faith in the newly introduce God by a white man and face death!
The new converts chose to believe! You see, belief offered the option of going to heaven. The way to heaven is through death after all.
kabaka Mutesa I died in 1884 just a few years after the arrival of the missionaries. He left the kingdom in the hands of Mwanga II his son. The new King was a youth fellow whose ruling style fell far short of the appeal and political wisdom his late father's confirmed dealing with the foreigners.
The new king therefore faced a challenge of handling divergent royalty. Remember, the total tradition of the Buganda kingdom was the exact opposite of what Christianity preached. Instead of worshiping the numerous traditional gods, one God had to be worshiped; there was the mention of a kingdom in heaven other than the current one. Such required a charismatic leader to deal with. To add salt to an injury, the new converts could no longer follow the Kabakas’ orders to letter.
This was because some of the orders conflicted with the new belief. Wasn’t the king right to refer to people of his kingdom who believed to another kingdom as rebels? Wasn’t Mwanga II right to charge these with treason? What is the is the court sentence for treason even in the current Ugandan law?
According to information on Buganda Kingdom website, Kabaka Mwanga “ordered the execution of Yusufu (Joseph) Rugarama, Makko (Mark) Kakumba, and Nuwa (Noah) Serwanga the first three Christian martyrs, who were killed at Busega Natete on January 31, 1885” ‘’Between December of 1885 and May of 1886 many more converts were wantonly murdered. Mwanga precipitated a showdown in May by ordering the converts to choose between their new faith, and complete obedience to his orders. Those unwilling to renounce their new faith would be subject to death. Courageously, the neophytes chose their faith.
The execution of twenty six Christians at Namugongo on June 3, 1886; was the climax of the campaign against the converts. The last person killed in this crusade, was Jean-Marie Muzeeyi, who was beheaded at Mengo on Jan 27, 1887. ‘’ To be continued: look out for part 2
