Rwandan pilgrims from the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches will attend Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations at Namugongo shrine in Kampala tomorrow.

In an interview with The New Times, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda (EAR), Onesphore Rwaje, said that every year, at least 20 people, including bishops, pastors and other Christians from EAR join thousands of pilgrims from different African and overseas countries,  for the memorial fair.

"The invitation is open to everyone and many people from across the world attend the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of the Catholic and Anglican faithful,” Archbishop Rwaje said.

Martyred by Mwanga

At least 24 Catholic and 23 Anglican martyrs were burnt or speared to death by the King Mwanga II of Buganda between 1885 and 1887 for refusing to renounce their faith.

Archbishop Rwaje said this year’s event is also a platform for participants to review the progress of a project on the Namugongo martyrs memorial site, in whichhe said all Christians were expected to play a role.

"We want to revive the spirit of one Anglican Church of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo as it was some years back. We want Namugongo homage to go beyond the Ugandan boundaries and Christians across Africa to have a sense of ownership,” he said.

The archbishop urged Christians to learn from the martyrs endurance of temptations to strengthen their faith.

"Contrary to those martyrs time, we have religious freedom but we have to learn from their martyrdom to strengthen our Christianity and display that through actions,” he said.

Many pilgrims from Uganda and the neighbouring countries walk to Namugongo shrine days before the celebrations in order to share in the suffering of the Uganda Martyrs, while others have special prayer intentions to seek the intercession of the martyrs.

The Catholic and Anglican shrines, located half a kilometre apart, have not only become centres of pilgrimage, but also symbols of unity for Christians.