–Tonny Onyulo OSV / Redacción Omnes.
Hours before the main mass on the feast day, Ugandan authorities foiled an attempted terrorist attack near the Munyonyo Basilica, some 29 kilometers from Namugongo. Security forces described it as a swift and precise anti-terrorist operation.
Col. Chris Magezi, acting director of defense public information, stated that Army units intercepted a suicide bomber and eliminated two armed suspects believed to be planning a suicide bombing. The individuals, who were traveling on motorcycles and wearing explosive vests, engaged in a brief firefight that resulted in an explosion, which killed them instantly and damaged their motorcycle.
Authorities suspect the attackers may have links to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), rebels affiliated with the Islamic State and known for their past extremist violence in the region. No civilian injuries were reported.
"Their aim was to attack a crowded gathering," Magezi stated, the Daily Monitor reported. The terrorists were stopped just 600 meters from the gate of the basilica, packed with pilgrims. Up to 7,000 security officers were deployed to protect the pilgrimage sites, both Catholic and Protestant.
Christian martyrs of Namugongo
With rosaries in hand, wooden crucifixes around their necks and yellow jerry cans ready to collect holy water, tens of thousands of East African pilgrims, according to authorities, knelt to pray on June 3 in the Sanctuary of the Catholic Martyrs of Namugongoin Uganda, on the outskirts of Kampala. They begged the Uganda Martyrs to intercede for them, seeking relief from poverty, disease, unemployment and instability.
"I came to ask the martyrs to intercede with God for my children," Mary Nasubu, a widow from Lira Diocese in northern Uganda who traveled more than 400 kilometers with her two children on a two-week journey, told OSV News. "Life has been hard, but I believe this holy place has power. Through the martyrs, I believe God will hear our pleas."
Nasubu was among tens of thousands of faithful who gathered for Martyrs' Day, an annual Catholic celebration honoring the 22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans martyred when they refused to renounce their faith and were killed on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II, then king of Buganda, between 1885 and 1887.
Namugongo sanctuary is where San Carlos Lwangaa Ugandan convert to the Catholic Church, and his companions were burned alive on June 3, 1886. Some martyrs were dragged from their homes to Namugongo and other places, where they were beheaded. Others were butchered and quartered for their faith. Pope Paul VI canonized them in 1964.
A spiritual magnet for pilgrims
Namugongo has become a spiritual magnet for pilgrims from all over the region. During the Jubilee Year, faithful came from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Congo and even as far away as Nigeria.
The 2025 commemoration on June 3 marked a return to pre-COVID-19 numbers, with waves of pilgrims arriving from far and wide. Some walked for weeks, often barefoot or in worn-out shoes, traversing forests, crossing borders and sleeping in cemeteries or along roadsides.
President Yoweri Museveni, present during the ceremony, said it is wrong to mix religion and politics, highlighting the martyrdom as a powerful testimony of African resilience and spiritual conviction.
"It was wrong for Kabaka Mwanga to want to do away with this new perspective on the supernatural realm," the president said, adding, "It is good that some young people were willing to give their lives for the new perspective that religion had brought."
