UGANDA is usually not a destination most people would associate with pilgrimage. But I just had a most wonderful, almost surreal experience while on a pilgrimage to Uganda to commemorate the killing of innocent Ugandans; the first converts to Christianity in that country. The pilgrimage is an experience that leaves me with reassuring appreciation of the awesomeness of God. How does one explain the fact that so many pilgrims would yearly congregate at the shrine at Namugongo to celebrate the life of the 22 martyrs whose number is now 24 with two more additional beatifications and that some of the pilgrims in mortification trekked for upwards of three days from various countries which include Kenya, Congo, etc. The Knights of Saint Mulumba, a group to which I proudly share membership of has recorded increased participation since it registered its presence at the pilgrimage in Uganda in 2003.
Welcome to Uganda, the land of martyrs. A land where the first catechumens were baptized in 1880; where the first foundation of the first catholic newspaper was laid in 1911 and the first ordination and consecration of both the first indigenous priest and bishop were respectively undertaken in 1935 and 1939. A land that is privileged to record the first papal visit in Africa in 1964 on the occasion of the consecration of the martyrs’ shrine; Namugongo shrine where countless miracles have been recorded. One of the  22 martyrs that were beatified by Pope Benedict  on the 6th of June, 1920 and were subsequently canonized by Pope Paul VI on 18th October, 1964 is the patron Saint of the Knights of Saint Mulumba, Nigeria.
The Knights of Saint Mulumba since its adoption of Saint Mulumba as their patron Saint has adopted a practice of asking the various Sub-Councils of the Order to sponsor one of the Knights to attend this pilgrimage, and as should be expected some of the members (referred to as brothers/sisters within the Order) are welcome to sponsor themselves and many have routinely done so. I became a privileged beneficiary as I was adjudged the best knight of the Lekki Sub-Council in 2009. But due to some delay in putting the logistics for travelling together, I could not participate that year. Fortunately this privilege was postponed for me to this year when I was able to participate.
We left for Uganda on Saturday May 29. The pilgrimage lasted one week. We returned on Saturday June 5. The actual feast day was Thursday June 3; the day set aside for the commemoration world wide of the life and times of the martyrs of Uganda. 
The Knights of the Order of Saint Mulumba which comprise the elite of the catholic faithful was founded in Nigeria by Anslem Abraham Ojefua, priest and monk of the Catholic Church of blessed memory, in 1953 with 23 foundation members. The preliminary meetings for the formation of the Order were held at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Onitsha and the name of the Order was selected based on the need to celebrate our own who is an acknowledged icon of the catholic faith and the particular selection of Saint Mulumba as the patron was in keeping with the trend then for the determination of the identity of such groups in other parts of the world. The Order held its inaugural meeting in Onitsha where the Order’s Head Quarters is presently based with subsequent meetings also held at Asaba, in present Delta State where Father Ojefua was then a teacher. The Order whose membership is currently in excess of 20,000 brothers and sisters has robust presence country wide.
 The establishment of the Order was in answer to the need to fight the moral laxity which prevailed in the country following the return of ex-service men at the end of the Second World War and the need to check the penetration of the catholic church by sundry secret societies as the faithful drifted to join some secret societies. Fr Ojefua believed that members of the Order should possess sound knowledge of catholic doctrine, discipline, sanctity and the ability to influence others and themselves to be charitable.
The initial mandate of the Order included the training of catholic youths to imbibe good leadership qualities with sound moral values, running of good bookshops to aid the spiritual development of the faithful, to engage in mass education by way of the circulation of purposeful handouts and the promotion of the dissemination of the catholic faith by supporting the publication of mass circulating newspaper such as the present day Catholic Herald. Membership of the Order is not all altruistic as it is also expected to foster fraternal relationship for the good progress of the Catholic Church, for the welfare of the membership and for the general well being of the Nigerian population but particularly for the well being of members of the Catholic Church. Specifically the Order is expected to foster the rendering of spiritual, intellectual and material aid to its members thereby enthroning the spirit of co-operation and mutual assistance. It is correct to note that the Order has by and large lived true to its mandate and has waxed from strength to strength even including the promotion of the establishment of the Order in Uganda, where the current membership has the sitting Vice President of Uganda as a member. In fact, during the pilgrimage there was so much fascination with the image of the Order that there were calls that the Order should also be established in Kenya.
There were 102 participants on the pilgrimage under the auspices of the Order of the Knights of Saint Mulumba including 13 Reverend fathers, two sisters all led by the Most Reverend Bishop Charles M. Hammawa of Jalingo Diocese. We were also reliably informed that Bishop Badejo (Abeokuta Diocese) of Catholic Secretariat fame was also present. During the pilgrimage the pilgrims visited interesting sites which included St Matia Mulumba Parish in old Kampala; Kyebando-jinja, the birth place of Saint Matia Mulumba;  Kiyinda-Mityana, the home of Saint Mulumba;  Kigungu-Entebbe where the first missionaries otherwise called white fathers landed and established the first church in Uganda. But the climax of the pilgrimage was the celebration of the martyrs day at Namugongo Shrine on Thursday June 3, 2010.
 It is difficult to begin to describe the heavenly spectacle which the celebration of the martyrs’ day conveyed. The number of the clergy that participated at the celebration was definitely in excess of one thousand with not less than 200 Bishops including Arch Bishops and Cardinals. The liturgy which was spiced up with traditional African rhythm was ethereal and very moving. Every available space was taken up by pilgrims.