Long before the mass executions at Namugongo turned Uganda’s Martyrs into a global religious symbol, three teenage boys were killed at Busega in what historians describe as the beginning of Christian persecution under Kabaka Mwanga II.
Makko Kakumba, 16, Yusuf Rugarama, 12, and Nuwa Sserwanga, 19, were arrested in Nateete and executed on January 31, 1885, at Mpiima-Erebera, present-day Busega. Historical accounts say they were among the first recorded Uganda Martyrs.
The trio was early Christian converts serving in the Buganda royal court during the final years of Kabaka Muteesa I and the early reign of Mwanga II. They were linked to missionary work connected to Alexander Mackay of the Church Missionary Society. They were later arrested while accompanying missionaries and executed after refusing to renounce their faith.
At Uganda Martyrs’ Church in Busega under Nateete Archdeaconry, Namirembe Diocese, Rev Edward Walakira says the story of the three boys remains hard to reconstruct fully due to limited documentation.
‘Busega holds a unique place in Uganda’s Christian history because it marks the beginning of the martyrdom period that later spread to other parts of the kingdom, including Namugongo,’ he said.
He described the executions as brutal. ‘On that day, they were killed after being tortured where their hands and legs were cut before they were burnt,’ Rev Walakira said. Mpiima-Erebera, the execution site, gets its name from a traditional sharp sword used for punishment during the Buganda kingdom era.
Unlike Namugongo, where dozens were killed in mass executions, Busega represents what historians call the earliest phase of persecution: smaller, more isolated and less documented killings.
‘We still face a hard time tracing the full background of these three,’ Rev Walakira said, noting that much of what is known comes from missionary records and oral tradition.
A memorial now stands at the church marking the site where the boys were killed. ‘A special commemorative Mass is held annually, often on the last Sunday of January, to honour their sacrifice,’ Rev Walakira added.
Among the lesser-known figures in Uganda’s martyrdom story is Clara Catherine Nalumansi, a princess born in 1863 to Kabaka Mutesa I and Nagadya. Initially a Muslim, she converted first to Protestantism and later to Catholicism, becoming the first member of Buganda’s royal family to embrace Christianity.
According to historian Frederick Kasozi, her alignment with Christian missionaries troubled her younger brother Kabaka Mwanga. She was executed on August 2, 1888, at her residence in Kazo, Bwaise.
In August 2016, the late Archbishop Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga announced that Rome had given the green light to start her beatification process, on condition that her profile was documented.
Rev John Kitayimbwa, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Uganda Christian University Mukono, said the commemoration of all martyrs is unified under the broader canonisation by the Catholic Church, regardless of where they were killed.
‘The canonisation of these martyrs is what brought them together, which is why we commemorate them collectively on the main Martyrs Day, even though some were killed earlier,’ he said.