Kampala — In the making of Uganda, few events have significantly contributed to the shaping of its character as those leading to and immediately following the persecutions of its Christian martyrs, 117 years ago.

It is an occasion that was surrounded by controversy and generated intense debate concerning its interpretation. The main issue being were these young men exemplary Christian martyrs or, as some have argued, fifth columnists guilty of treason against the state of Buganda, having sold out to impending colonialism?

During my primary school days at the Christian missionary established Stanislaus Mugwanya, Kabojja, and later St. Savio, Kisubi, our tutors imbued us with the interpretation that the Uganda martyrs had stood for a justified cause while African traditional religion was vilified and Kabaka Mwanga's actions depicted as despotic. With hindsight, however, my perspective is that the situation was rather more complex than this rather too clear cut black and white description.

A revisit to history illustrates that Buganda, from the time of Kabaka Ssuna, in the mid 19th century, had initially not been hostile to foreign religions namely Islam, introduced by Swahili and Arab traders, and later Christianity under his son Walugembe Muteesa I.

In fact Muteesa, who is credited for willingly inviting Christianity to Buganda, and by extension Uganda, converted and practiced Islam for around a decade, a period in which he also fasted during Ramadan. This was emulated by his leading chiefs and courtiers, they had also become fluent in Swahili and Arabic and were well conversant with the Koran.

The turning point however was when preachers from Khartoum, with a radical perspective to Islam insisted on practices that Muteesa and his aides, interpreted as undermining their authority. The result was a purge, an experience Mwanga was to borrow from later, that left scores of converts dead or exiled!

Let us remember that Christianity's penetration into Buganda, as Islam had done earlier, had been uncharacteristically top-down! Uncharacteristic because from the times of Jesus Christ in Judea, through to its introduction in Europe, Christianity had mainly targeted and been embraced by the poor and dispossessed, 'the wretched of this earth'.

In Buganda's case it had mainly been the Abagalagala or palace court pages, ambitious young cadres undergoing chiefly training, that became its first converts! This resulted from a policy that conditioned both the European missionaries and Swahili traders to reside in close proximity to the Kabaka's palace the intention being to control and monitor their activities.

Christianity's introduction in Buganda was propelled by the incoming European colonisation of Africa. A situation that unfortunately resulted in our missionaries first and foremost being English or French jingoistic patriots and only secondly men of God!

These were all too keen to ensure that Buganda got colonised by their respective home countries! The result was the indoctrination amongst the chiefly converts with intolerant versions of their religions, leading to the entrenching of the culture of politically motivated religious sectarianism that exploded into the Buganda's religious wars, between the Bangeleza (Protestants), Bafaransa (Catholics) and Basilaamu (Muslims) factions in the late 1880's.

With the ascendancy of the Bangeleza faction, thanks to Captain Lugard's Maxim gun, colonialism encouraged and institutionalised these differences, which in the process impaired our political development.

Although Mwanga had a rash character, possibly arising out of his inexperience, his ordering the persecutions of his hitherto chiefly colleagues, many of whom he had promoted into strategic positions upon ascending to the throne, as for instance Mukasa Balikuddembe his senior aide, was motivated by hard political realities.

Though he was sovereign they opted to defy his orders in preference to instructions of their missionary mentors. No absolute monarch would have tolerated this insubordination, not least the English, with Sir Thomas Moore, nor the French with their Huguenots! All said and done however, these young chiefs' determination to stand by their convictions, even midst adversity, is truly commendable, especially in this era where sycophancy is being developed into an art!