Thousands flock to Mucwini to commemorate Luwum Day

From Uganda-

Thousands of Christians from across the country yesterday attended celebrations in memory of Church of Uganda’s first archbishop, the late Janani Luwum.

About 9:30am, bishops walked down from St Paul’s Church of Uganda in a procession to take their seats at the altar prepared on the ceremonial grounds in Mucwini Sub-county, Kitgum District.

The colourful function was animated by ululation and songs by Christians. A combination of members from St Janani Luwum Parish, Kitgum Town, Christ Church Gulu, and All Saints Church formed the choir.

February 16, is gazetted nationally to remember Luwum who was brutally murdered by Idi Amin’s regime in 1977.

More here-

https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Thousands-flock-Mucwini-Luwum-Day-Kitgum-Ntagali/688334-5459078-3dyy5p/

Uganda: Joy As Amin's Kinsmen, Luwum Family Reconcile

From Uganda-

It was an emotional moment on Saturday after Idi Amin's kinsmen from Koboko District asked for forgiveness from the family of late Archbishop Janani Luwum over the latter's murder.

Luwum, who was the archbishop of the Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire, was killed in 1977 by former president Idi Amin's henchmen.

During the 42nd commemoration prayers held to mark Luwum's death in Wii Gweng Village, Mucwini Sub-county in Kitgum District at the weekend, Christians from Koboko Archdeaconry led by Rev Canon Stephen Gelenga said the community still feels the impact of what happened during Amin's regime.

"As Christians from the Kakwa Community, we said we should put aside what happened in the past and let it die completely," he said.

According to Rev Canon Gelenga, the Christians also met with Luwum's widow at their family home in Wii Gweng where they held prayers together.

More here-

https://allafrica.com/stories/201902180179.html

Death of an Archbishop

On this day in 1977 Archbishop Luwum of Uganda was martyred by Idi Amin. Here's the Time Magazine article from that year-

In the six years since he seized power from Milton Obote, Uganda's mercurial President Idi Amin has accused his enemies of scheming at least a dozen times to overthrow him, and in response has ordered the execution of untold thousands of opponents. Last week three newly discovered "plotters" met with suspiciously accidental deaths. Two of the accused were high government officials: Internal Affairs Minister Charles Oboth-Ofumbi and Land and Water Resources Minister Erinayo Oryema. The third was one of the most highly esteemed churchmen in all of Africa, the Most Rev. Janani Luwum, 53, Anglican Archbishop of Uganda.

In typical "Big Daddy" fashion, the dictator convened a giant rally in Kampala and invited the two ministers and the archbishop to attend. Then, a few lesser "suspects" were paraded forth to read out "confessions" implicating the three men. The archbishop smiled wanly and shook his head in disbelief when he heard his own name mentioned as one of the agents whom the exiled Milton Obote had chosen to help stage a coup. Amid soldiers' cries of "Kill them all!" a gracious Amin declared that, in all fairness, there would be "a proper military trial."

The rally, in fact, was the closest approach to a "hearing" that Archbishop Luwum and the two ministers would ever get. Next day, Radio Uganda reported that the prisoners had been killed when the car transporting them to an interrogation center collided with another vehicle and overturned; the victims, said the broadcast, had tried to overpower the driver in an attempt to escape.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918720,00.html