Life And People
Janani Luwum: The Man Who Never Made Peace With Oppression -By Isaiah Ogedegbe
He was God’s general and now has become my hero, because he was not afraid of Idi Amin who could kill his body but not his soul. The only One he feared is God who received him from the cruel hands of the wild animal Idi Amin or his henchmen.
Janani Luwum (b 1922) was the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977. Idi Amin had deposed Milton Obote and established his military government. Luwum’s position as the archbishop made his confrontation with Idi Amin inevitable and it also made him vulnerable.
Archbishop Janani Luwum was the man who never made peace with oppression. He had laid down his life at Jesus’ feet and given his blood to the very last drop for the oppressed people of Uganda. He was God’s general and now has become my hero, because he was not afraid of Idi Amin who could kill his body but not his soul. The only One he feared is God who received him from the cruel hands of the wild animal Idi Amin or his henchmen. I see Archbishop Janani Luwum as a John the Baptist of his beloved country Uganda.
We need ministers of God like him in the world today who are bold enough to look at those of our self-seeking political leaders straight in the eye and say, “This is not just.” May his humble and gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
