Saint Janani Luwum, Archbishop and Martyr

Saint Janani Luwum was the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire during the reign of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. He was murdered in 1977 for speaking out against the excesses  and violence of Amin's government. He is one of ten modern martyrs commemorated with a statue at Westminister Abbey, and Uganda celebrates a public holiday, Archbishop Janani Luwum Day every year on February 16th to honour his memory and his sacrifice.

We recount Saint Janani's early life and conversion to Christianity, read excerpts from the protest letter he sent to Idi Amin that ultimately got him killed, and  discuss Saint Janani's martyrdom and his legacy. 

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Transcript

Welcome to the Christian Saints Podcast. My name is Darren Ong, recording from Sepang in Malaysia. In this podcast, we explore the lives of the Christian saints, from the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Today, we will celebrate Saint Janani Luwum, Anglican Arcbhbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire. Saint Janani was a martyr, killed because he dared to speak out against the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. 
 
Janani Luwum was born in either 1922 or 1924 in the village of Mucwini in Uganda, and spent his childhood as a goatherd. He later became a schoolteacher, and in 1948 converted to Christianity, influenced by the East African Revival movement that was active in Uganda at that time. According to Margaret Ford’s book, , Janani: The Making of a Martyr:
 
 During the preaching, Janani felt convicted: twice he broke out in heavy sweat. When this happened a third time, Janani, confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour; and, he repented of his sins, crying out aloud before God and men.”
 At the end of the assembly, Luwum spoke as if he was taking a vow. “Today, I have become a leader in Christ’s army. I am prepared to die in the army of Jesus. As Jesus shed his blood for the people, if it is God’s will, I will do the same.” 

Janani’s zeal for his new Christian faith soon landed him in trouble. Barely a month after his conversion spoke out against the excessive drinking and tobacco use in his community so fervently, the local authorities threw him in jail for disturbing the peace!
 
 A year later, Saint Janai began his theological training in a theological college at Buwalasi, in eastern Uganda. His rise in the ranks of the Church of Uganda was rapid. He was ordained a deacon in 1955, and then ordained a priest a year later. Recognizing his potential, the Church of Uganda sent him to England twice to further his education, and he became principal of the theological college and Buwalasi. In 1969 he was consecrated bishop of Northern Uganda. Present at his consecration ceremony included the prime minister of Uganda, Milton Obote, and the Chief of Staff of the army, a man named Idi Amin.
 
Idi Amin would seize power in Uganda in 1971, after a military coup. He ruled with initimidation, violence and corruption. Under his rule there were many atrocities committed against the Acholi and Langi people (St Janani himself was an Acholi). In 1972, the Asian population of Uganda had their property seized and were forcibly expelled from the country. 
 
Here is an excerpt from Idi Amin’s obituary, written by Patrick Keatley in the Guardian magazine shortly after he died in 2003:
 
 Idi Amin, who has died at an age thought to be 78, was one of the most brutal military dictators to wield power in post-independence Africa. 

While chief of staff of the Ugandan army, under Dr Milton Obote's civilian government, he seized power in 1971. He made himself president, with the rank of field marshal, and after eight years of power left Uganda a legacy of bloodthirsty killings and economic mismanagement. Parliament was dissolved; no elections were held; secret police - most of them in plain clothes - exercised absolute power of life and death; and the courts and the press were subjugated to the whims of the executive. 

 The death toll during the Amin regime will never be accurately known. The best estimate, from the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, is that it was not less than 80,000 and more likely around 300,000. Another estimate, compiled by exile organisations with the help of Amnesty International, put the number killed at 500,000. For Tanzania's president, Julius Nyerere, Amin was "a murderer, a liar and a savage". In the perspective of history he will go down as one who damaged the cause of African nationalism. His rule of Uganda became a synonym for barbarity. 
 
 It was under these harrowing circumstances that St Janani Luwum was elected Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire. He was a remarkably effective leader in a difficult time for the Church of Uganda. From an article in the Ugandan Daily Monitor, by Ugandan politician and diplomat Olara Otunnu adapted from his book “Archbishop Janani Luwum: The Life and Witness of a 20th Century Martyr”:
 
 What is it then about the life and witness of St. Janani that is worthy of great national and global remembrance and thanksgiving? Several things immediately jump out. His passion for proclaiming the Gospel. His deep and abiding faith. Through thick and thin, his clear, unflinching prophetic voice for human rights and social justice. 

His quiet confidence and steely courage. In the face of everything; ominous threats, mortal danger, and ultimately death he never wavered. He seemed to draw from a deep inner well of confidence and tranquillity.
 In life, it was very striking how Archbishop Janani exuded such natural and infectious love and joy. He always had a glowing face, with this warm, loving smile. He truly had the gift of love.

As Archbishop, he became a major uniting and healing force within a fractured Anglican Church and a country in terrible agony. As a leader, he was a great unifier and reconciler of people. He set an example of simple, uncomplicated integrity. He was oblivious to the allure of materialism. He lived a simple, unpretentious and giving life.
 He was particularly devoted to young people. Even as Archbishop, with a punishing schedule, he always made time for the youth, engaging and encouraging them. He was a hunter for talent; he mentored many young people, including current Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu and Archbishop- emeritus Luke Orombi. 

Well ahead of his times in the Church, he began to pursue a clear vision for development, particularly for empowerment of women, poverty-reduction and rural development. One of the fruit of his development vision is Janani Luwum Church House, the edifice in downtown Kampala. He often spoke about this project; it was very dear to him.
 Of physical stature, he had an imposing charismatic presence. Yet he had a natural disposition of such simplicity, humility, gentleness and warmth about him. That is why all stations of people readily felt at-home in his presence.
 
If you’ve never heard the voice of Janani Luwum, this is your opportunity. In  1976. Wallace Baulton, a British radio broadcaster, interviewed Janani Luwum in 1976 in preparation for the Church of Uganda’s Centennial celebration:
 
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Leading the church of Uganda under Idi Amin’s oppressive rule was difficult. Saint Janani warned that the Church should not conform to "the powers of darkness". Nevertheless, Idi Amin cultivated a relationship with the archbishop, arguably to acquire credibility. For his part, Luwum sought to mitigate the effects of his rule, and to plead for its victims.

On February 5, Idi Amin’s soldiers stormed the Archbishop’s residence, ransacking the place, abusing the Archbishop and his family. They claimed to be looking for hidden weapons. Nothing was found. In response, all Bishops wrote a letter of protest to Idi Amin on February 8, rebuking Idi Amin for his soldiers’ mistreatment of the Archbishop, and other Christian leaders, but also speaking out against his government’s abuses towards all Uganda’s people:
 
The security of the ordinary Christian has been in jeopardy for quite a long time. It may be that what has happened to the Archbishop and the Bishop of Bukedi is a climax of what is consistently happening to our Christians. We have buried many who have died as a result of being shot and there are many more whose bodies have not been found, yet their disappearance is connected with the activities of some members of the Security Forces. Your Excellency, if it is required, we can give concrete evidence of what is happening because widows and orphans are members of our Church. Furthermore, we are made sad by the increasing forces that are setting Ugandans one against another. While it is common in Uganda for members of one family to be members of different religious organizations there is an increasing feeling that one particular religious organ- ization is being favored more than any other. So much so that in some parts of Uganda members of Islam who are in leading positions are using these positions to coerce Christians into becoming Muslims. Secondly members of the Security Forces are sons of civilians and they have civilian brothers and sisters. When they begin to use the gun in their hands to destroy instead of protecting the civilian then the relationship of mutual trust and respect is destroyed. Instead of that relationship you have suspicion, fear and hidden hatred. There is also a war against the educated which is forcing many of our people to run away from this country in spite of what the country has paid to educate them. This brain drainage of our country, the fear and the mistrust make development, progress and stability of our country almost impossible. The gun which was meant to protect Uganda as a nation, the Ugandan as a citizen and his property is increasingly being used against the Ugandan to take away his life and his property. For instance, many cars, almost daily are being taken at gunpoint and their owners killed. And most of the culprits never brought to justice. If required, we can enumerate many cases. Too much power has been given to members of State Research who arrest and kill at will innocent individuals. Therefore that which was meant to provide the Ugandan citizen with security is increasingly becoming the means of his insecurity. 

 Relatives and friends urged St Janani to leave the country. Various embassies and outside churches offered to safely get him out. But he refused, saying , “If I, the Shepard, flee, what will happen to the sheep?” He told his wife that he would not flee, unless there were no more Ugandans left.

Olara Otunnu recounts St Janani’s last hours in his aritcle in the Daily Monitor:
 
 On February 15, the Archbishop and all the Bishops (and senior public servants) were summoned , through Radio Uganda, to report the following morning to Nile Mansions (today’s Kampala Serena Hotel), for a “very important event”. Early morning of February 16, the Archbishop left Namirembe to report to Nile Mansions as required. 
 So, the first phase of the final showdown unfolds from the night of February 5 to the morning of February 16 at Namirembe. Namirembe then is the first Station of the Cross in this martyrdom journey. 

Show trial at Nile Mansions
The advertised “very important event” at Nile Mansions turned out to be an ostentatious and crude show trial of the Archbishop, cynically staged by Amin and his henchmen. The trumped-up charge was attempting to overthrow the Amin regime. At the end of the long sham trial, Vice-President Mustafa Adrisi turned to the gathering and asked, “What shall we do with these traitors?” The assembled soldiers roared back: 

“Kill them!” The question was asked three times, and each time the answer was the same. A group of soldiers then stepped forward and separated the Archbishop from the other Bishops. Some Bishops wanted to accompany him, but the soldiers insisted, “His Excellency wants to see him alone.” 
 As he was being led away, the Archbishop turned to his fellow Bishops, smiling gently, and said, “I am not afraid. In all this, I see the hand of God.” This was the last time he was seen in public. He was taken inside Nile Mansions, where Idi Amin was waiting for him. The physical abuse and humiliation started there. Nile Mansions is the second Station of the Cross.
 Later that afternoon, at about 4pm, the Archbishop was delivered, now as a battered and abused prisoner, to the headquarters of the State Research Bureau (the regime’s much-dreaded secret police outfit) in Nakasero. He was taken to dungeon Cell No. 1, located in the basement of the building. 

Amin and the dark deed
At night, Idi Amin himself suddenly arrived at the premises, accompanied by a select entourage, including close associates Bob Astles and Lt Col Jumba Masigazi. The Archbishop was taken from his cell to the first-floor office of Farouk Minawa, where Amin and the team were waiting. It was in this office that Amin committed the dark deed. After taunting and savaging him for some time, Amin then shot the Archbishop at about 9pm. 

The Archbishop was actually murdered at a spot (Minawa’s office) directly overlooking the compound of his own cathedral, All Saints, some 100 meters away. This building then is the third Station of the Cross. Murdered alongside the Archbishop that night were two cabinet ministers, Oboth Ofumbi and Erinayo Oryema. The latter, incidentally, had been the Archbishop’s primary school teacher in Kitgum.

The morning of February 17, a government statement was put out, narrating the official lie that the Archbishop and the two ministers had died in a car accident. 
 
 ***
 
 The murder of Saint Janani shocked the world, and galvanized international opposition to Amin’s rule. Two years later, the Tanzanian army with the help of Ugandan exiles invaded and toppled Amin’s regime, and Amin himself was forced to live the rest of his life in exile in Saudi Arabia.
 
 Saint Janani remains a beloved figure in Uganda and around the world. His statue stands in London’s Westminister Abbey, as one of ten statues commemorating modern Christian martyrs.  In the Anglican church’s calendar of saints, Saint Janani is commemorated on February 17. This is the collect for that day:
 
 O God, whose Son the Good Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep: We give you thanks for your faithful shepherd, Janani Luwum, who after his Savior’s example gave up his life for the sake of his flock. Grant us to be so inspired by his witness that we make no peace with oppression, but live as those who are sealed with the cross of Christ, who died and rose again, and now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 Archbishop Janani Luwum day is a public holiday in Uganda, celebrated on February 16 every year. In 2020, the church of Uganda organized a pilgrimage, where 76 pilgrims walked from the place of Archbishop Janani’s arrest, Namirembe, on 29 January and ended in Mucwini in Kitgum, a distance of 500 km or 310 miles.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Christian saints podcast. Look for the Christian Saints podcast page on Facebook or Instagram, or look for us on Twitter at podcast_saints. All music in this episode was composed by my good friend, James John Marks of Generative sounds. Please check out his music at https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com/
 
To end this episode, let us read the gospel reading for Saint Janani’s feast day, from the lectionary of the Anglican church. John 12:24–32
 

Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”