Janani Luwum

Janani Luwum (1922-1977), also known as Janani Jakaliya Luwum, was the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda between 1974 and 1977.

In 1971, Idi Amin took over the government by surprise from Milton Obote. While he was in power, he abused power by killing many people and others were disappearing in the country, without any trace.

Janani Luwum, who was the Archbishop of Uganda at that time, was not happy with the way people who opposed Idi Amin went missing. His position as the Archbishop of Uganda made it hard for him to remain silent about the harsh leadership of Idi Amin. So, together with other religious leaders in the country, he wrote a strong-worded letter of protest to Idi Amin, telling him to stop all the bad things he was doing to his people.

When Idi Amin received the message, he felt insulted by it and got Janani Luwum arrested and tried. Idi Amin eventually killed him by having his men shoot him to death in February 1977.

Since 2015 Uganda has a public holiday on 16 February, to celebrate the life of Janani Luwum, who has been described by Isaiah Ogedegbe as "the man who never made peace with oppression".

Janani Luwum Media

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  Maximilian Kolbe (left), Manche Masemola (center) and Luwum (right) statues – Westminster Abbey