Early in 1977, Archbishop Janani Luwum delivered a note of protest to dictator Idi Amin against the policies of arbitrary killings and unexplained disappearances.
Luwum’s immediate disappearance was not unexplained, as he was arrested for treason. His killing was not arbitrary, as Radio Uganda reported that he had been killed in a car collision while trying to escape. This did not quite gel with reports from Luwum’s kinsmen that his body had been riddled with bullets.
Luwum’s day of arrest is a public holiday in Uganda, while the day of death, 17 February, is commemorated in the Anglican Communion. His is one of the Twentieth Century Martyrs on the front of Westminster Abbey.
