By necessity, this year’s June 3 celebrations had to be scaled down to minimise the risk of the spread of the deadly Ebola disease.
The clergy, Christian community and, the general public fully understand the implications of a mass gathering of this nature at this time, thus there have been few, if any, complaints on the matter.
This, however, should give us pause to reflect on how to hold Martyrs Day celebrations going forward, and how to commemorate the martyrs in light of modern-day challenges such as risks of disease outbreak.
A mass gathering such as that which has been hosted in Namugongo over the years, with the numbers of pilgrims in the hundreds of thousands, was always going to present several challenges: among them, security and health concerns.
According to the 2025 visitor analysis report by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, a total of 813,945 people visited Namugongo.
The report also noted the need for more and cleaner toilet facilities for pilgrims, including better facilities for persons with disabilities and a need for expanded infrastructure, facilities and amenities.
Over the years, the pull of the Namugongo pilgrimage has only grown, with more and more pilgrims trekking across districts and crossing borders to join in the Martyrs celebration.
This year’s scaled-back celebration is a demonstration that we can still celebrate the martyrs outside of a one-day mass gathering that stretches our facilities, risks health and threatens the environment.
It is time to think about decentralising the celebrations and providing for more and longer access at Namugongo, where pilgrims can visit the shrines at different times of the year.
This is not a suggestion to invalidate the significance of June 3.
The celebrations should go on in a different style, affording the different dioceses across the country a chance to host big events of their own, while saving on the public cost of putting on a mass show at Namugongo and spreading the benefits of income generation beyond the capital.
Namugongo should retain its historical value and remain open for scattered or themed celebrations across the year.
The church can determine what the new mode of celebration could look like. Going by the recent trend of visitor traffic growth amid limited space and facilities, something had to give.
Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to rethink how we celebrate the Uganda Martyrs in years to come.