Joseph Mukasa

Who was Joseph Mukasa?

Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe was a Ugandan Roman Catholic and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. Early in his reign, the new king Mwanga began to crack down on Christian missionaries and converts in his country, and executed the British Anglican bishop James Hannington and his companions on October 29, 1885, ignoring Mukasa's pleas to spare the bishop. One of the main reasons that Mwanga killed Mukasa was because Mukasa spoke out against Mwanga's homosexual practices.

After a night-long interview Mwanga condemned him to death. Mukasa was taken to a place near the Nakivubo river where he was knifed and his body burned. His duties were assumed by the young catechist Charles Lwanga. Mukasa is remembered as first of the Martyrs of Uganda.