Source: www.vomusa.org
Date: October 29, 2026
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Remembering James Hannington (1847–1885)
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| On a hill to the west of Kampala’s city center stands the dome of Namirembe Cathedral, with its bronze cross clearly visible to the crowded capital of Uganda. It is one of two cathedrals of the Province of the Church of Uganda (Anglican), one of the strongest Christian movements in East Africa. Beside the church rests a small cemetery, and just inside the gate is a simple stone marking Bishop James Hannington’s grave. The epitaph contains his last words: “Tell the Kabaka I die for Uganda.” Born in Hurstpierpoint near Sussex, England, Hannington was a precocious, adventurous child. He studied at Oxford and then went into business and the British Army. Dedicated to Christ, he entered the ministry, and at age 37 he was appointed by the Church Missionary Society to Uganda to lead the first expedition of Protestant missionaries to the East African interior. But he never arrived in Uganda; malaria and dysentery forced his return to London. In 1884 he tried again, this time as the first bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa. His goal was the Buganda kingdom, west of the source of the great River Nile, discovered by British explorer John Speke just two years before. This time Hannington might have completed the long journey but for a rumor passed to the Buganda king (Kabaka Mwanga), warning him to beware of white men approaching from the east — they were aggressors intent on a takeover. Indeed, Hannington’s expedition was stopped near Jinja in late July. Bugandan warriors apprehended the bishop, sending word back to Kampala of whites held prisoner. Hannington wrote in his journal on July 22:
Not until late October did the Kabaka’s order make its way back: “Kill him.” Today, Bugandan leaders say that, in the Luganda language, “release him” and “kill him,” sound remarkably similar, but in 1885, warriors holding Hannington could not worry if they had heard the Kabaka correctly. On October 29, Hannington read Psalm 30 and recorded in his journal that it brought him “great power.” Later that day, he was speared. Reports of Hannington’s death sparked a wave of missionary recruits from England. Within a year, the church was growing, and Mwanga’s own court included several young Christian servants. Even the Kabaka himself, after further bloodshed, confessed his faith in the same Lord who had called Bishop Hannington to Africa. Today, the Church of Uganda worships in every part of the nation, including the war-torn northern provinces, where the story of martyrdom is still being written. This story has been adapted from Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs, part of this fall’s Gifts to Inspire catalog. You can get your own copy of Foxe and other resources that will inspire your faith here.
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