Dr. Tshimba explained that, according to their research, the first time the Uganda Martyrs were photographed was through the imagination of one of the White Fathers, guided by available information. He added that at no point did the converts or future martyrs actually pose for a photo before a camera.
One of the most iconic photographs
capturing what many thought were the faces of the earliest Catholic converts in
Uganda has come under fresh scrutiny.
Curators now say the people in the
photograph were not the converts who were martyred between 1885 and 1887.
For years, a widely circulated
photograph was thought to offer a glimpse into the faces and appearance of the
Uganda Martyrs, including those burned at Namugongo.
This image has been prominently
displayed in Catholic homes, newspapers, television programs, and various media
outlets as a visual representation of these revered martyrs who were canonized
60 years ago.
However, recent research by curators
led by Dr. David Tshimba, who organized a martyrs’ exhibition at Uganda Martyrs
University Lubaga Campus, has uncovered a surprising twist: the photograph does
not depict any of the Uganda Martyrs.
Dr David Tshimba explains that
during their search for items related to the martyrs, including their journey
to the headquarters of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in Rome, they
uncovered information revealing that the photograph depicts freed
slaves and children rescued by the missionaries, rather than the Uganda
Martyrs.
To shed more light on the matter,
Dr. Tshimba notes that most of the Uganda Martyrs were pages in the Kabaka’s
court, and some, like Mukasa Balikuddembe, were even considered for high
offices such as Katikiro (Prime Minister). This, to him, suggests that they
were likely well-off and would have worn better clothing than what is depicted
in the photograph.
“This was a misrepresentation
of facts, and through this display, we need people to critically analyze and
deconstruct it,” the curator said pointing to the photo displayed in the
exhibition with the caption: Msgr. Leon Livihac and Fr. Giruat Liudovic with
ransomed slave children,1885.
The display, credited to the
Archives of the Missionaries of Africa in Rome, also clarified that the
children were ransomed from Uganda between 1879 (the year the White Fathers
arrived in Buganda) and 1882. Furthermore, it noted that the photo was taken at Bukumbi in the Mwanza region of German East Africa (now Tanzania).
John Baptist Ssemitego from the
Uganda Martyrs Guild who is part of the team that organised the exhibition also
echoed similar sentiments about the photograph. He criticized those who first
published and misidentified the photo, attributing the confusion to incorrect
labelling.
Originally, the photo was tagged as
depicting some of the future Uganda Martyrs and claimed to show them in 1885 at
Bukumbi Mission in Mwanza, where they had gathered to welcome the new Catholic
bishop, Léon Livinhac.
Ssemitego said that it would have
been impossible for all 22 pages from Kabaka’s court to travel to Bukumbi
simultaneously without Kabaka’s knowledge.
Additionally, he points out that
such an event would have been recorded in the diaries of the White Fathers, who
meticulously documented daily events twice a day, both in the morning and
afternoon.
He argued that the absence of any mention
of this journey in their records further suggests that the photograph does not
depict the Uganda Martyrs.
//Cue in; “Brother Tarcis Nsobya....
Cue out... Tarcis Nsobya named.”//
The photo features a group of
34 children, including both boys and girls, seated on a veranda in the company
of Bishop Léon Livinhac and Fr. Giruat Liudovic at Bukumbi Mission in Mwanza, then part of northern
Tanganyika. The photograph has long been cited as a valuable reference for
those trying to imagine what the Uganda Martyrs might have looked like.
It became particularly renowned for
its detailed captions, which purportedly identified 20 of the 22 martyrs by
name. For example, a male in the front row was labelled number 3 and in the caption
identified as Mukasa Kirigwajjo, while a seemingly older youth with a
distinctive attitude dressed in a unique attire was identified as Balikuddembe
Mukasa.
Dr. Tshimba explained that,
according to their research, the first time the Uganda Martyrs were photographed
was through the imagination of one of the White Fathers, guided by available
information. He added that at no point did the converts or future martyrs pose for a photo before a camera.
Tshimba also noted that guided by
information gathered during the canonization process, an artist's impression or
illustration of the martyrs was created by Albert Wider in 1962. This
illustration was featured on a large banner displayed during the canonization
day at the Vatican, on 18 October 1964. The illustration is now also on display
in the ongoing exhibition, alongside other historical items.
To him, the current exhibition,
which displays the photograph, aims to help the public deconstruct this
misleading image from their minds.
