Martyrs trail to boost tourism
THE Government has established a Martyrs trail as part of its campaign to attract more tourists.
By Ibrahim Kasita
THE Government has established a Martyrs trail as part of its campaign to attract more tourists.
The route will go through the various places where the Uganda martyrs were killed or tortured in the 1880s on the orders of King Mwanga of Buganda. It will also cover other areas of spiritual importance.
The trail will be traversed as a spiritual journey to coincide with the annual Martyrs Day held on June 3 at the national shrines at Namugongo.
“This spiritual tourism is fantastic because people reconcile and sort out their differences. This trail will be a healing point. People of different faiths come together and peace is created,†the state minister for tourism, Serapio Rukundo, said.
The trail begins at Kasubi Tombs, Mwanga’s burial place, and proceeds to Namirembe Cathedral, where Bishop James Hannington’s remains were buried after being killed in Busoga.
From Namirembe, the trail goes to Rubaga Cathedral, where archives on the lives of 22 Catholic martyrs are kept.
The route descends to the Kabaka’s lake, Mengo Palace and Buganda’s Lukiiko before proceeding to Old Kampala, where St Mathias Mulumba was killed.
It passes through Naalya, where St. Gonzagga collapsed and was beheaded on his way to Namugongo, where the rest of the martyrs were burnt alive.
The trail ends at Namugongo, the home of Mukajjanga, Mwanga’s chief executor. Pilgrims will stop over at the well that was used by the executioners to wash their hands before ending at the national shrines where St. Charles Lwanga was killed.
Rukundo and Louis D’Amore, the founder president of the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism, launched the trail by planting trees at the new Peace Park at Namugongo.
D’Amore said the trail would instill inter-religious unity and reconciliation because ‘we are all sons and daughters of Abraham.’
THE Government has established a Martyrs trail as part of its campaign to attract more tourists.
The route will go through the various places where the Uganda martyrs were killed or tortured in the 1880s on the orders of King Mwanga of Buganda. It will also cover other areas of spiritual importance.
The trail will be traversed as a spiritual journey to coincide with the annual Martyrs Day held on June 3 at the national shrines at Namugongo.
“This spiritual tourism is fantastic because people reconcile and sort out their differences. This trail will be a healing point. People of different faiths come together and peace is created,†the state minister for tourism, Serapio Rukundo, said.
The trail begins at Kasubi Tombs, Mwanga’s burial place, and proceeds to Namirembe Cathedral, where Bishop James Hannington’s remains were buried after being killed in Busoga.
From Namirembe, the trail goes to Rubaga Cathedral, where archives on the lives of 22 Catholic martyrs are kept.
The route descends to the Kabaka’s lake, Mengo Palace and Buganda’s Lukiiko before proceeding to Old Kampala, where St Mathias Mulumba was killed.
It passes through Naalya, where St. Gonzagga collapsed and was beheaded on his way to Namugongo, where the rest of the martyrs were burnt alive.
The trail ends at Namugongo, the home of Mukajjanga, Mwanga’s chief executor. Pilgrims will stop over at the well that was used by the executioners to wash their hands before ending at the national shrines where St. Charles Lwanga was killed.
Rukundo and Louis D’Amore, the founder president of the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism, launched the trail by planting trees at the new Peace Park at Namugongo.
D’Amore said the trail would instill inter-religious unity and reconciliation because ‘we are all sons and daughters of Abraham.’