Christians in Uganda and from around the world are gathered at Namugongo in the capital Kampala to celebrate the life and unstopable faith of the prominent Uganda Martyrs.
The commemoration of Uganda Martyrs Day is an event held annually on 3 June.
The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican that were executed for their conversion to Christianity.
They were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887 on orders of Mwanga II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda.
Kabaka Mwanga II succeeded to the throne in 1884. He was concerned at the growing influence of Christianity and the rise of a new class of officials, distinct from the traditional territorial chiefs, who were educated, had a religious orientation, and wished to reform Ganda society.
In 1886 Mwanga ordered the executions of many members of the royal court for refusing to yield to his religious demands, which he saw as insubordination.
A witness to the event, the French missionary priest Lourdel, considered that the principal cause was Mwanga’s feeling of being despised by the literate Christians who claimed a superior knowledge of religion.
