Sweet Victory of the BaBukusu: The First Battle of Lumboka

Hello Friends 👋,

Congratulations 🎉 to Zambians for exercising their democratic right and electing a new president.

The Ugandan Martyrs ⛪

The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic converts in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31st January 1885 and 27th January 1887 on the orders of Kabaka (king) Mwanga II.

Christian missionaries arrived in Buganda during the late nineteenth century. The Anglican Church missionary society was the first to set up a mission in 1877, followed by the White Fathers (Catholics) two years later.

The arrival of the Christian missionaries marked a turning point in the religious life of the people of the Buganda Kingdom. They took particular interest in the Baganda as they were among the powerful Kingdoms in Central and Eastern Africa.

Mwanga embraced Christianity when he was still a prince. However, things changed after taking over the throne in 1884, following the death of his father Kabaka Mutesa I. He realized that the foreigners' interference and influence would dwarf his political power.

He developed hatred and rejection for foreigners and Christians. In January 1885, he ordered the execution of Joseph Rugarama, Noah Serwanga and Mark Kakumba at Busega Nateete. In October of the same year, the Anglican Bishop James Hannington was murdered in Busoga on his way to Buganda. His crime was returning to Buganda from the Eastern route. The direction the king's 'wise men' had said the enemy would use 😯.

Those who refused to denounce the newfound faith were killed. The last martyr, Jean-Marie Muzeeyi, was beheaded on 27th January 1887 at Mengo.

The Martyrs are remembered with a commemoration on 3rd June every year. Pilgrims walk from far and wide to mark the celebrations at Namugongo Shrine.

Sweet Victory of the BaBukusu: The First Battle of Lumboka

It was not uncommon for the Bukusu to go to war with their neighbours. They had fought and triumphed over the Wanga, the Teso, the Sabaot, and the Maasai.

However, this time, the stake could not be higher. The Bukusu were fighting for survival. It was a do or die battle.

🤔 A bit of Background

The king of Wanga Kingdom, Nabongo Mumia, had grown so powerful after collaborating with the British. The British had even set up an administration station in Nabongo' s headquarters (later named Mumias). They supplied him with firearms and soldiers that helped him easily subjugate the neighbouring communities.

The only neighbour who was still a thorn in the flesh to Nabongo was their bitter rivals, the mighty and ruthless Bukusu. So it did not take long for Nabongo and the allies to start attacking the Bukusu.

They would raid Bukusu villages, take them captives and later sell them as slaves.

To destroy the military power of the Bukusu, the British introduced a law that designated guns as government property and as such, they demanded them back.

This law did not sit well with the Bukusu, who treated the disarmament law with the utmost suspicion, and deservedly so. They instead continued to accumulate stockpiles of firepower and reinstating their forts in preparation for the looming war.

The Battle

Under the leadership of Olukhoba Lwa Lumboka and the strategy of great warriors like Wakoni, the son of Mukiso, the Bukusu stoutly defended their position behind the fort gates and managed to defeat Nabongo Mumia's soldiers made mostly of Swahili men. The battle would come to be known as Lumboka I.

Apart from the article by Too Early Birds (subject link above) that gives details of the Lumboka battle, the Mulembe nation team have gone a step further and shared a chronology of the war of Chetambe.

The Chronology includes the battle of Mukweya, Lumboka I, Lumboka II and how the wars finally culminated into the Chetambe war of 1895. They have also shared the heroic stories of the strategist warrior Wakoni, the son of Mukiso and the Tachoni leader Chetamba Ifile.

Special mentions

📌 The innovations and technologies developed or used by the Edo people of the Benin kingdom. - SciTech Africa

📌 The assassination of chief Waruhiu. - Owaahh

📌 Cleaning The Airwaves using CSI (Culture Shaping Icons) to create, distribute and promote MWAPI (Media With A Positive Influence). - CTA

Fun Fact 🐰💖🚀

Africa is less than 9 miles from Europe at the Strait of Gibraltar, between Morocco and Spain. The two countries are in talks about an undersea rail network to make Africa-Europe travel easier and more convenient.