CHAPTER 3 | THE FIRST BLOOD — JOSEPH MUKASA BALIKUDDEMBE

The formal persecutions began on 15th November 1885. On that day, Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe became the first martyr. He was twenty-six years old, and he was a man of extraordinary courage and moral clarity. 

Joseph Mukasa served as the chief of the royal pages and was one of the most trusted men at court.  Muteesa I had considered him for the position of Katikkiro, the prime minister. He was a Catholic convert, deeply devout, and known for his gentleness and fairness. His nickname, “Balikuddembe,” meant “a man of peace.” 

When Mwanga ordered the killing of Bishop Hannington, Joseph Mukasa was one of the very few people at court with enough moral authority and personal courage to speak up. He publicly reproached the king, saying, “Kabaka, you have done wrong. You have killed a man who came peacefully.” He also tried to protect the younger Christian pages from the king’s moral misconduct. These were acts of extraordinary bravery for a subject of an absolute monarch. 

Mwanga, already suspicious of Joseph Mukasa and prompted by the Katikkiro, used a minor pretext, accusing Joseph of attempting to poison him with medicine, to order his arrest and execution. On the night of 15th November 1885, Joseph was seized, bound, and taken to Nakivubo, a swamp located in what is today the center of Kampala City. He was beheaded there and his body burned. Eyewitnesses recorded that Mwanga, fearing that Joseph might testify against him before God, ordered a servant killed and his ashes mixed with Joseph’s so that he could not be identified. 

As he was led away, Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe reportedly asked his executioner to pass a message to Father Lourdel, the Catholic missionary: “Tell him that I am dying for my religion. He should remain firm in teaching the Baganda.”

St. Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe Chief of Royal Pages | First Catholic Martyr c. 1860 — 15 November 1885. The first to die, and the one whose courage inspired all who followed. A man of peace who chose to speak truth to power even knowing it would cost him his life. He was beheaded and burned at the Nakivubo swamp, Kampala. Legacy: Patron of political leaders. His martyrdom site is commemorated at St. Balikuddembe Mengo Kisenyi Catholic Parish, Old Kampala.