Janani Luwum

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = Bishop

| name = Janani Luwum

| title = Archbishop of the Church of Uganda
Primate of the Anglican Church in Uganda

| image = Luwum.jpg

| image_size = 250

| alt =

| caption =

| church = Anglican Communion

| archdiocese =

| diocese =

| see = Kampala

| term = 1974–1977

| predecessor = Erica Sabiti

| successor = Silvanus Wani

| ordination = 1953

| ordinated_by =

| consecration =

| consecrated_by =

| rank =

| birth_date = c. 1922

| birth_place = Kitgum District, British Uganda

| death_date = 16 February 1977 (aged 55)

| death_place = Kampala, Second Republic of Uganda

| previous_post = Anglican Church Province of northern Uganda,
Archbishop of the Metropolitan Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire
Bishop

| spouse = Mary Luwum (died 2019 at 93 years)

}}

Janani Jakaliya Luwum was a Ugandan Anglican bishop. He was the archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977 and one of the most influential leaders of the modern church in Africa. He was arrested in February 1977 and died shortly after. Although the official account describes a car crash, it is generally accepted that he was murdered on the orders of then-president Idi Amin.

Since 2015, Uganda has a public holiday on 16 February to celebrate the life of Luwum.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1417242/uganda-declared-february-archbishop-janani-luwum-public-holiday|title=Why Uganda declared February 16 Archbishop Janani Luwum Public Holiday}}{{Cite web |title=Archbishop Janani Luwum Day in Uganda in 2023 |url=https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/uganda/archbishop-janani-luwum-day |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=Office Holidays |language=en}}

Early life

Luwum was born in the village of Mucwini in the Kitgum District to Acholi parents. He attended Gulu High School and Boroboro Teacher Training College, after which he taught at a primary school. Luwum converted to Christianity in 1948, and in 1949 he went to Buwalasi Theological College.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-16 |title=Remembering the life of martyr Janani Luwum |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/magazines/people-power/remembering-the-life-of-martyr-janani-luwum-1686636 |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=Monitor |language=en}}

Career

In 1950 he was attached to St. Philip's Church in Gulu. He was ordained a deacon in 1953, and the following year he was ordained a priest. He served in the Upper Nile Diocese of Uganda and later in the Diocese of Mbale. In 1969 he was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda at Gulu. After five years he was appointed Archbishop of the Metropolitan Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga (in Zaire), becoming the second African to hold this position.Gordon Landreth, [http://www.stpetershenleaze.org/JananiLuwum.pdf Heroes – Janani Luwum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516085906/http://www.stpetershenleaze.org/JananiLuwum.pdf |date=16 May 2008 }}

Arrest and death

File:Janan Luwum Burial Site, Kitgum5L.jpg

File:Janan Luwum Burial Site in Northern Uganda.jpg

Archbishop Luwum was a leading voice in criticising the excesses of the Idi Amin regime that assumed power in 1971.{{Cite web |last=Emuron |first=Emmy |title=Archbishop Luwum death & why such history keeps visiting us |url=https://observer.ug/viewpoint/68482-archbishop-luwum-death-why-such-history-keeps-visiting-us |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=The Observer - Uganda |date=16 February 2021 |language=en-gb}} In 1977, Archbishop Luwum delivered a note of protest to dictator Idi Amin against the policies of arbitrary killings and unexplained disappearances.{{Cite web |title=Leaders Silent About Torture at Arch. Janani Luwum Commemoration |url=https://ugandaradionetwork.net/story/leaders-silent-about-torture-at-archbishop-janani-luwum-commemoration |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=Uganda Radionetwork |language=en}} Shortly afterwards the archbishop and other leading churchmen were accused of treason.

On 16 February 1977, Luwum was arrested together with two cabinet ministers, Erinayo Wilson Oryema and Charles Oboth Ofumbi. The same day Idi Amin convened a rally in Kampala with the three accused present. A few other "suspects" were paraded forth to read out "confessions" implicating the three men. The archbishop was accused of being an agent of the exiled former president Milton Obote, and for planning to stage a coup. The next day, Radio Uganda announced that the three had been killed when the car transporting them to an interrogation centre had collided with another vehicle. The accident, Radio Uganda reported, had occurred when the victims had tried to overpower the driver in an attempt to escape.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930070653/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918720,00.html "Death of an Archbishop"], Time Magazine, 28 February 1977 When Luwum's body was released to his relatives, it was riddled with bullets. Henry Kyemba, minister of health in Amin's government, later wrote in his book A State of Blood, that "The bodies were bullet-riddled. The archbishop had been shot through the mouth and at least three bullets in the chest. The ministers had been shot in a similar way but one only in the chest and not through the mouth. Oryema had a bullet wound through the leg."A state of blood: The inside story of Idi Amin (1977) Henry Kyemba

According to the later testimony of witnesses, the victims had been taken to an army barracks, where they were bullied, beaten and finally shot. Time magazine said "Some reports even had it that Amin himself had pulled the trigger, but Amin angrily denied the charge, and there were no first-hand witnesses".[https://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,918762,00.html Amin:The Wild Man of Africa], Time Magazine, 7 March 1977 According to Vice President of Uganda Mustafa Adrisi{{cite web |url=https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1340661/mustafa-adrisi-life-exile |title=Mustafa Adrisi: Life during and after exile |author1=Moses Walubiri |author2=Richard Drasimaku |work=New Vision |date=14 May 2014 |access-date=18 December 2018 }} and a Human rights commission, Amin's right-hand man Isaac Maliyamungu carried out the murder of Luwum and his colleagues.{{cite web |url=https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1320718/luwum-murder-witnesses |title=Luwum murder: What witnesses said |author=Watuwa Timbiti |work=New Vision |date=12 February 2015 |access-date=18 December 2018 }}

Legacy

Janani Luwum was survived by his widow, Mary Lawinyo Luwum and nine children. He was buried at his home village of Mucwini in the Kitgum District.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-05 |title=I am glad the day my husband was killed is public holiday - Mary Luwum |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/lifestyle/reviews-profiles/i-am-glad-the-day-my-husband-was-killed-is-public-holiday-mary-luwum-1640550 |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=Monitor |language=en}} Archbishop Luwum is recognized as a martyr by the Anglican Communion and his statue is among the Twentieth Century Martyrs on the front of Westminster Abbey in London.{{Cite web |date=2021-02-16 |title=Archbishop Janani Luwum, a martyr of hope and healing |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/archbishop-janani-luwum-a-martyr-of-hope-and-healing-3292888 |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=Monitor |language=en}} He is honored on the liturgical calendars of the Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Church of Canada, Scottish Episcopal Church, and Church in Wales on 3 June.[https://www.scotland.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/Calendar-and-Lectionary-2023-Complete.pdf Calendar and Lectionary - The Scottish Episcopal Church] He is honored on the liturgical calendars of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, Church of England and the Episcopal Church of the United States on 17 February.{{Cite web |title=Janani Luwum, Archbishop and Martyr, 1977 |url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/lectionary/janani-luwum/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=The Episcopal Church |language=en-US}}

= Archbishop Janani Luwum Day =

Archbishop Janani Luwum Day is a public holiday in Uganda, celebrated 16 February annually. The holiday is dedicated to the life and service of Janani Luwum, the former archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, who is typically regarded as having been murdered on the orders of the then-President Idi Amin.{{Cite web |title=Archbishop Janani Luwum Day 2025 and 2026 in Uganda |url=https://publicholidays.africa/uganda/archbishop-janani-luwum-day/ |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=PublicHolidays.africa |language=en-US}}Image:WestminsterAbbey-Martyrs.jpg (left), Manche Masemola (center) and Luwum (right) statues – Westminster Abbey]]

References

External links

[http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/homepage.asp?ID=402 The Greatest Ugandan Ever! Part 2]
[http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/101.html Janani Luwum – biographical sketch] from collection: Biographical sketches of memorable Christians of the past, by James Kiefer
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071012152659/http://ugandaobserver.com/new/archives/2006arch/features/spec/feb/spec200602161.php "Not even an archbishop was spared"], The Weekly Observer, 16 February 2006 (N.B. Link destination requires video software installation)
{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060228102818/http://www.jananiluwumtrust.com/ The Archbishop Janani Luwum Trust UK]}}
[http://allafrica.com/stories/201206221079.html list of past Archbishops of the Church of Uganda]