Uganda gives Pope Francis rousing welcome

At Entebbe International Airport, six-year old Jasmine Anne Atuhaire, handed a smiling Pope Francis a bouquet of flowers to welcome him to what they call the land of martyrs.

President Yoweri Museveni, with a grin on his face and First Lady Janet with a big smile, watched over as the Pope received flowers. The bubble of excitement at the airport on the shores of Lake Victoria was a signal of what awaited the pontiff on his second country of call on his African trip.

He had just flown over from Kenya, where the blessings of rain did not dampen people’s hunger to see, watch and feel the pontiff.

Uganda was different though. I was informed that it rained heavily in Kampala on Thursday night. But on Friday and Saturday, a heavy cloud, pregnant with rain, hung over the city threatening to unleash the torrents but, probably, the spirits of the martyrs withheld it.

The dancing troupes at the airport which was followed by a 21-gun salute at the same venue, gave way to the Entebbe State House where the Pope spoke of his delight to visit Uganda and the special place it holds in the Catholic Church.

President Museveni who had invited South Sudan Preident Salva Kiir Mayardit, had a special guest for the pope — the widow of late Tanzania President Julius Nyerere.

“Here is Mama Nyerere, the widow of President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, perhaps the greatest African that has ever lived. He supported liberation struggles in almost half of Africa, including Uganda,” he said.

Pope Francis spoke of his delight to visit Uganda, his love for children and the pursuit of eliminating human suffering.

At about 7 pm, after meeting married couples who had requested for his blessings and a retinue of catechists — and they are many in Uganda — his car, a simple mini KIA four-wheel drive — was led on the highway from Entebbe to Kampala.

Then it all started. Thousands of Ugandans had lined up the 40-kilometre stretch to Kampala which had been closed to all vehicles. Inspite of darkness setting in, some had brought their chairs by the roadside, to watch the Pope as he passed.

The excitement can be understood. Uganda is about martyrs, both Catholic and Anglican. It all goes back to November 1885 when then Kabaka of Buganda Kingdom Mwanga II ordered the murder of 23 Anglicans and 22 Catholics who had converted to Christianity. The murdering spree ended in January 1887.

Notable among the martyrs were Charles Lwanga who has already been canonized by the Catholic Church and Andrew Kaggwa. And that is where the shrines of Namugongo and Munyonyo come in.

Martyrdom is about blood, passion, dedication, hunger, emotions and commitment to a cause. It evokes in a human mind the memory of a struggle, pain and an ownership unrivalled.

And that passion, hunger and emotions poured out as the minibus transporting Vatican Accredited journalists drove into the Munyonyo Martyrs Grounds and Shrine at 7.30 am. The blood of Saint Kaggwa was spilt at the grounds

The atmosphere was electrifying, dancers in traditional regalia, thousands of people yearning to see the Pope reverberated kilometres far from the grounds.

Unlike the conservative, restrained priests in Kenya, the father who was the MC at the Munyinyi Grounds was different — a kind of evangelists who have set up shops all over Nairobi.

He summed the whole excitement, saying they wanted to welcome the Pope “Munyonyo style”.

When it became clear that the Pope was nearby, the excitement, hunger and passion reached its crescendo, dancers gyrating to their best and the candles lit at the entire ground.

Ululations, beats of the Uganda drum and their afro beats punctuated every pause in the Pope’s speech as he implored the faithful to follow the ways of the martyrs and serve the church.

On Saturday, morning, it was “Namugongo Style”, a rendition of the palpitating excitement of the Pope who never put a foot wrong at the shrine associated more with St Lwanga.

Pope Francis urged thousands of those who turned up to care for the poor, the vulnerable, avoid unconventional sexual ways, conserve the environment and live true to the gospel of Christ.