A spark that torched 45 men and sparked faith;an Ode to the Uganda Matyrs

This is inspired by Amuron Mable’s story of faith and courage .One hundred thirty years ago( Between 1885-87) 45 young men(23Catholics and 22 Anglicans) were set on fire and torched on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga for refusing to renounce Christianity.Today is the Feast Day to commemorate the event. The young men had been baptized and become Christians converts. The deaths took place at a time when there was a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court and the scramble and partition of Africa. Suffice to note, the new Christian converts were given a choice to renounce their faith or die and they chose the later sparking a flame of faith and religion across Africa. The other converts were executed on the way to Namugongo but the largest number were torched on the orders of Mukajjanga the chief henchman/executor Kabaka Mwanga. When Jesus was born, King Herod asked the visitors to let him know exactly where the child was, so he too could worship him. They followed the star until it stopped over the place where the child lay. They worshipped him and brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. So in effect, the king at the time could have felt threatened but feared the white men and probably transferred the outrage to the new converts. Given that at the time, it was unlikely to have matchboxes/lighters around, Mukajjanga must have started a spark by rubbing two stones/sticks light a fire to end the lives of the 45 young men and little did he know that he had ignited a huge flame of faith. The good Doctor Eno Korantema from Ghana had her marriage at St. Kizito Catholic Church Nima Saint Kizito was the youngest martyr to be torched and he was 12! I attended my primary school education at St. Kizito Primary school and so did Justine Love. These are the few examples of the Afrobloggers and our connection to the Uganda Martyrs.Kevman another amazing Afroblogger once asked me whether I am a poet? Dear Kevman, I am an aspiring writer but for now I will remain a fraud which is why I took literal things literally and came up with a small ode to the Uganda Martyrs, read on.

A spark was born in youthful hearts,
A faith that burned with fiery starts after getting baptized
Unquenchable flame, relentless zeal,
Their love for Christ, could not conceal.

Their eyes were bright, their voices strong,
Proclaiming Christ with every song,
Their joy was pure, their hope secure,
Their faith in God, forever pure.

But those who despised their faith so bold,
Sought to bring them down, make them fold,
With cruel words and vicious lies,
They sought to put out their fiery eyes.

Yet still these young believers stood,
They wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t budge,
They knew their faith was worth the fight,
That God would be their shining light.

And so the spark grew into flame,
A fire that could not be tamed,
A passion for Jesus, burning bright,
Victorious even in their plight.

Their love for Christ was far too great,
To be quenched by fear or hate,
They stood strong, unshaken, bold,
And in their faith, their story told.

And though they faced the fires of fury, They died so that the faith could live because whoever heard their story would serve the Lord. The Catholic Church later canonized them and they are now saints. What can a spark of fire do, Mukajjanga might have started a fire to destroy the new faith but little did he know that he was planting the seed of faith.