An Anglican archbishop believed to have been murdered on the orders of former dictator Idi Amin was remembered in services marking the 40th anniversary of his death in Uganda this week.
Archbishop Janani Luwum, at the time archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga Zaire, had been a leading voice protesting against Amin’s regime and its policies of arbitrary killings and detention. He was assassinated on 16th February, 1977, and his body placed in a mangled car wreck in what was a staged accident.
Hundreds of people reportedly gathered for a commemoration in Mucwini – where the archbishop was buried – yesterday including the Stanley Ntagali, archbishop of Uganda, and Vice-President Edward Sekandi.
On Sunday, scores had attended St Paul’s Cathedral in Kampala where the late archbishop’s son, Ben Okello, described his father as a patriot and paid tribute to his love for all people, regardless of their status.
“The legacy of love, the legacy of justice and legacy of a committed preacher shall live to last. All those in power should remember that there are people who died for this justice and that justice should be highly respected,” Mr Okello was reported as saying by the allAfrica news service.
