The history of political assassinations in Africa will not be complete without acknowledging the events that transpired during the military regime of Uganda's Idi Amin. Perhaps, of the many people Amin reportedly killed, that of Archbishop Janani Luwums' will always be remembered.
Before his murder on 16th February 1977, Archbishop Luwum was the head of the Anglican ecclesiastical province that was composed of four countries (Burundi, Eastern Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda) at the time.
His travails began on February 5th when soldiers invaded his residence, with claims that they were looking for hidden weapons. They went on to ransack his residence, assaulted and abused him, yet couldn't find any weapon.
This incidence, however, was just one of many such treatments the revered Archbishop would later be subjected to by Idi Amin and his men, which prompted his relatives and friends to implore him to leave the country.
Defiant to their advice, Archbishop Luwum replied them saying "If I, the Shepard, flee, what will happen to the sheep?"
On the 16th of February 1977, Archbishop Luwum, other Bishops, and senior public servants reported to the Nile Mansions after being summoned through Radio Uganda, the previous day.
This summon would later precipitate into a trial for Archbishop Luwum, by Idi Amin and his soldiers, after accusing the former of plotting a coup against the government. According to reports, the last words the Archbishop spoke in public before he was led away were thus:
"I am not afraid. In all this, I see the hand of God".
Around 4 pm of the same day, the Archbishop was taken to the headquarters of the regime s' much-dreaded secret police known as the State Research Bureau. He was held in Cell no 1, at the basement of the building, battered and abused.
Later that night, Idi Amin and a few of his men arrived at the location of Luwums' incarceration, insulted and abused him, before shooting him to death.
To cover their act, a statement was released the following day, that Archbishop Luwum had died in a car accident. However, this cover-up was exposed later at night when the relatives of Archbishop Luwum, before his burial, managed to have access to his body and discovered that his body was riddled with bullet wounds.
On February 19, 1977, Archbishop Luwum was buried. The burial ceremony which was attended by his family and friends was simple and was done in a hurry.
Forty-four (44) years after his murder, Archbishop Luwum is now recognized as one of the 10 martyrs of the 20th century.
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