What was it about Janani Luwum that irked Amin?

The inaugural national celebration to recognise St. Janani Luwum’s contribution to the fight against Idi Amin’s tyranny, will be held on February 17. New Vision is until February 16 publishing stories about the fearless, outspoken leader who stood for justice. But what exactly did he do to push Amin over the edge? Moses Walubiri writes.


Just like Cambodia’s Pol Pot, Idi Amin’s eight-year reign gained international notoriety for its brutality and murderous streak that saw between 100,000 and 500,000 people lose their lives at the hands of trigger happy operatives. Among Amin’s famous victims was then Uganda Anglican Archbishop, Janani Luwum. Amin was ushered into power following his coup against Dr. Apollo Milton Obote in January 1971.

Shortly after, ‘Field Marshall’ Amin, as the strongman preferred to be addressed, set his ruthless killer machinery — Public Safety Unit (PSU) and the State Research Bureau (SRB) — against Ugandans of all walks of life.

Before Luwum’s murder 38 years ago this February, then Chief Justice, Benedicto Kiwanuka, Makererere University vice-chancellor, Frank Kalimuzo, former ministers, Shaban Nkutu and then acting army Chief of Staff, Brig. Charles Arube, had met a grisly end on Amin’s explicit orders.

But Luwum’s murder seemed to jolt the conscience of the world, reaffirming the fear that no one unfortunate enough to rub Amin the wrong way could escape his talons. But how did Luwum or his pastoral duties that entailed presiding over the provinces of Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) rub Amin the wrong way?

According to Henry Kyemba — an insider in Amin’s government — the political, social and economic environment at the time, made the confrontation between a fearless Luwum and Amin almost inevitable. A veteran politician who had served as Obote’s principal private secretary, Kyemba acted in the same capacity for Amin, as well as being the secretary to the cabinet, permanent secretary in the office of the president, and later minister of health. And so, Kyemba, more than anyone else can claim to have been privy to the inner workings of Amin’s government.

In his book, A State of Blood, in which he parts curtains on the excesses of Amin’s reign of terror, Kyemba reveals that the former army chief-turned president, following the 1976 Air France hostage crisis, was in a foul mood and keen to settle old scores. “Part of Amin’s grievance against the archbishop was Archbishop Janani Luwum  was reflected in his hostility toward the Christian Church as a whole, a hostility which stemmed from his ludicrous effort to turn Uganda into a Muslim state,” Kyemba notes.

In the months preceding Luwum’s murder, Amin and his henchmen in the military threw more barbs at the Church, describing a fundraising drive for the Church’s centenary celebration as “doing magendo” (black market business) and preaching hatred against the state. Towards the end of 1976, the frosty relationship between Amin and the Church hit an all-time low, forcing Church of Uganda to drop him from prayers routinely offered in services on behalf of the state. Efforts by Luwum to meet Amin and voice the Church’s disquiet following a withering attack by the army spokesperson on Christmas day of 1976 came to naught.

Luwum, in an unprecedented bold move, had used his 1976 Christmas day sermon to admonish Amin’s regime, describing it as “ruthless”.

He threatened a public demonstration if the situation did not improve. His sermon that was being relayed live felt the full power of state censorship when it got interrupted. Acting against the advice of his wife to flee into exile, Luwum routinely put his life on the block by personally going to SRB to demand the release of people wrongfully imprisoned. “He telephoned many times to arrange an appointment; each time an aide would say the president was very busy and would call back. He never did,” Kyemba writes.

Earlier, in February 1973, Bishop Festo Kivengere had riled Amin when he risked his life to plead for three men that were due for execution by firing squad in Kabale on trumped up charges. Amin’s reaction was quite swift, but chilling. It seems a plucky church under Luwum’s stewardship was not only surreal to his regime whose foes had long scampered to exile, but had also got under his skin.

Plans were made to frame Luwum for subversive activities. Ever since the botched attack on Uganda by Ugandan émigrés and anti-Amin forces based in Tanzania in the mid-1970s, a number of people got rounded up on allegations of supporting rebel activities, with the unfortunate ones facing the firing squad. In February 1977, in the wee hours of the morning, soldiers invaded Luwum’s house at Namirembe hill, allegedly in search of weapons.

Finding none, they dished out a similar treatment to Bishop Yona Okoth of Bukedi with soldiers rummaging through his house at night in search of weapons. This forced the Church into action. In a letter to Amin, dated February 10, 1977, Luwum and his fellow bishops highlighted the general malaise in the country, decrying the breakdown of the rule of law, spiralling violence evidenced by a number of carjackings at gun point and wanton murders.

The copies of the bold memorandum demanding a meeting with Amin to resolve differences with the Church were sent to all the cabinet ministers.

“When I received my copy, I was amazed at its boldness,” Kyemba writes.

On February 17, 1977, the day Luwum and two cabinet ministers — Charles Oboth Ofumbi and Erinayo Oryema — were murdered, Amin had invited Luwum and other bishops, ministers and diplomats to Nile Mansions (now Serena Kampala Hotel) where he had an office on the second floor.

Luwum, a healing force for a country in agony 

Very few people have spoken truth to power the way the late Archbishop Janani Luwum did. It is, therefore, not surprising that his baldness rubbed the government of the day the wrong way. Even then, this modest son of Acholi never let up. He stood for the truly downtrodden, spoke against President Idi Amin’s brutal killings of innocent people and preached peace. The emperor could not stand the truth of his nakedness any less than the boldness of the man of God’s calls for him to reform. Luwum paid the ultimate price.

The story goes that on February 5, 1977, Archbishop Luwum’s house was raided by soldiers under the pretext of looking for hidden arms and arrested him. Days later, on February 17, he was killed.

Luwum gave his whole to steer this country forward. A man who never sat back in his priestly robes, he had his leadership finger in nearly every piece of the national pie that mattered to this country. One of Luwum’s most known contributions was his crusade against Amin’s bad leadership. But he also worked very hard to unite the Church. “As archbishop, he became a major uniting and healing force within a fractured Church and a country in terrible agony. Luwum was one of the converts of the East African Revival, a strong Christian movement that originated in Gahini, Rwanda.

He accepted Christ on January 6, 1948, following in his father’s example who had also been inspired by Yusto Otunnu — one of the first converts in Kitgum. It is this zeal for Christ and spreading the good news that slowly led him to life in Christian ministry.
 

Archbishop Luwum (centre) after consecrating the second African bishop John Wasikye (left) of Mbale Diocese at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Mbale town in 1976. (Courtesy photo)

“It may be impossible to understand the incredible passion, enthusiasm, joy and love that St. Janani brought to his church ministry, without an appreciation of this transforming revival experience,” says Olara Otunnu, the coordinator of an initiative to mark St. Janani Luwum day.

After accepting Jesus Christ, Luwum left his teaching profession for Church ministry. After training at Buwalasi Theological College, he was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Upper Nile in 1956. He later pursued higher studies at St. Augustine’s College, Canterbury, and at London School of Divinity.

A lover of development, Luwum played a pivotal role in developing the Church. “He believed in a prosperous self-sustaining church and displayed this when he was Bishop in Gulu where he set up a carpentry workshop and dairy farm for the Church.

In Kampala, as archbishop, he started the Wamala Dairy Farm and secured land to commence building the Church House now being completed on Kampala Road. This legacy is now being emulated by the Church,” says Ben Okello Luwum, one of his sons. It was Luwum who directed that development studies be offered to all students at the Theological College in Mukono, among several other initiatives.

Under his leadership, many young refugees from Rwanda and Sudan received financial support from the Church under the development rehabilitation programme and even graduated here,” says retired Bishop Mcleord Baker Ochola II, a friend of Luwum.

He was also keen on supporting young people. This he did by recruiting young men and women to join church work. Some of his recruits include Bishop Ben Ogwal, former Archbishop Luke Orombi and John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

“God used Archbishop Luwum to call some of us to ministry.He told us that the Church needed young people. He offered us a lot of moral support, that after encouraging us to join ministry, he often followed us up. Whenever we were on holiday, he called us to see him and often talked to us and encouraged us about our vocation. He wrote letters and made sure we were going on well,” says retired Bishop Ben Ogwal. At home, some of his children remember him as a loving but strict father. “He was busy with pastoral work, but always found time for us, to find out how we were doing at school.

He was strict about reporting back home before dark. He taught us religious values; to be kind to all, irrespective of class; to help people, to love people; to work hard for our livelihood,” Okello Luwum recalls.

Okello remembers that his father was worried for his family when the House of Bishops nominated his name for the post of Archbishop in early 1974. “He confided in me about the nomination and told me that it was tough times due to the bad rule of Amin but God would guide him and give him the courage to perform the work of God,” he says.

It is because of these and many other contributions that the Church in Uganda and beyond recognized Luwum. “In the Church of England’s calendar celebrating saints and martyrs, February 17 is observed as the Festival of Janani Luwum,” says Otunnu.

'We have a duty to tell Luwum’s story to the world'

Luwum’s death marked an important chapter in the history and life not just of the Church of Uganda, but for the entire country and beyond. For that reason, a group of leaders from Uganda and abroad have set aside February 16 every year to celebrate the life and legacy of a great saint of the 20th Century.

According to Olara Otunnu, the coordinator of this initiative, the day will be a pilgrimage to Wii Gweng, Mucwini — Luwum’s birth and resting place, followed by prayer and thanksgiving, bringing together all Christians and people of goodwill to remember Luwum’s contribution to humanity.

“We have a moral obligation to ensure that the testimony, martyrdom and example of St. Janani Luwum, hero of the Christian faith and a giant role model for the world, is known, celebrated and emulated in his home land, in Africa and the world,” Otunnu says.

“This year — 2015 — will mark the lift-off year for the annual pilgrimage, prayer and thanksgiving for St. Janani Luwum. It will set February 16 as a major national and international occasion of grateful remembrance."

The worship and thanksgiving at Wii Gweng will be ecumenical, led by Archbishop Stanley Ntagali (chief celebrant) and Archbishop John Baptist Odama (chief intercessor). The chief guest and memorial preacher for the occasion is expected to be Ugandan-born Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu.

“There will be many national and international dignitaries in attendance, led by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,” Otunnu says. This occasion will offer an opportunity to celebrate the life and times of a man whose contribution to national development, peace and justice was never fully understood in his own country, Otunnu added.

'The day soldiers invaded our home'

Julie Luwum Adriko, Luwum’s daughter, remembers the night that soldiers attacked their home. “We heard people breaking our gate and the dog barking. As the head of the family, my dad came out to see what was happening. As he approached the door, someone was calling out his name and asking him to open the door.

A badly beaten man stood before him, asking for help, but before he could even answer, a group of soldiers that were following this man forced their way into the house, pushing my father to the door and demanding guns which they said were hidden in the house. He told them he had no hidden weapons. ‘My only weapon is the Bible’. He encouraged them to search the house but they did not find a thing,” she recalls.

Luwum was later arrested and executed on February 16. According to Olara Otunnu, a family friend, soldiers secretly transported his body to his ancestral home and birthplace in Mucwini and dumped it in a hurriedly-dug grave at the church yard at Wii Gweng on February 19.

“This has been St. Janani’s resting place ever since,” Otunnu says.