Guide · Kampala

From Munyonyo to Namugongo: Following the Uganda Martyrs

The cathedral of a living Church, the court where the 1886 ordeal began, the hill where Charles Lwanga was killed. One vehicle day. Not a walk of the historical road.

1 day
Three places, one day, all by vehicle
Reviewed September 2026

The argument

The shape of these days

Judgment, baptism, the road, the Eucharist. Keep that order. Do not walk a highway and call it 1886.

What this guide leaves out, on purpose

The other martyrdom stations. St. Pontian Ngondwe at Ttakajjunge, St. Matthias Mulumba at Old Kampala, St. Gonzaga Gonza at Lubowa, and other stations belong to the same history. This V1 does not create destination records for them. They may be named in passing. They are not stops.
The Anglican shrine at Namugongo. It is a distinct site further east. Francis named an ecumenism of blood. This day stays with the Catholic basilica and does not fold the two shrines into one visit.
June 3 as this itinerary. Martyrs Day rearranges Namugongo. Parking, access, and schedules do not behave as on an ordinary Tuesday. Come with a parish that day, or keep this vehicle sequence for another date.

Walking: Short distances at each stop. The day is not a hike. Namugongo's grounds are the longest walk, and June 3 is a crowd, not a stroll.
Where to stay: Kampala. Lubaga west, Munyonyo south, Namugongo east in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.
Assumes: Mass at Lubaga if you can, then Munyonyo late morning, Namugongo afternoon.
Getting around: Private vehicle or taxi. The Archdiocese notes the historical Munyonyo–Namugongo movement as roughly twenty-seven kilometers. A modern pilgrim drives. This guide does not recommend walking the modern roads as the martyr path.
Season note: Year-round. June 3 is Uganda Martyrs Day: do not run this as an ordinary driving day.

Made for

Pilgrims with one day in Kampala
The Uganda Martyrs
Anyone willing to pray at three altars rather than collect three facades

Less suited to

Anyone hoping to walk the historical Munyonyo–Namugongo road as a trail
A June 3 visit without an organized pilgrimage
Travelers trying to add safari or the rest of Uganda on the same day
Anyone looking for a saint-by-saint catalog rather than the geography of prayer

Day 1

Lubaga, Munyonyo, Namugongo

Begin in the cathedral of the living Church, go south to the court of judgment, then east to the hill of June 3.

Give Munyonyo its hour. If you treat it as a photo stop on the way to Namugongo, you have already left the pilgrimage.
Vehicle all day. Lubaga west of the center, Munyonyo south toward the lake, Namugongo east in Kira. Not a walking path, and not the 1886 road.
See this day on the map

The conical red roof and spire of Uganda Martyrs Basilica, Munyonyo, with the bronze statue of St. Andrew Kaggwa on the forecourt. — Munyonyo is the beginning: the court of May 1886, and Mass on that ground.

The circular timber interior of the Uganda Martyrs Basilica at Namugongo during Mass, with the congregation seated around the sanctuary. — Namugongo is a parish at prayer, in the round, at the place of Charles Lwanga's martyrdom.

Begin on Lubaga Hill, west of the center. This is orientation, not the martyr road.
Morning Mass if you can, on Lubaga Hill

St. Mary's Cathedral Lubaga

Plan on about 45 minutes, or the length of Mass

Start where the Church of Kampala actually lives, so that Munyonyo and Namugongo are not two shrines without a diocese. Lubaga is not on the 1886 forced journey. Paul VI said farewell to Uganda from this cathedral. Francis met the clergy here. Forty minutes, or Mass. Then drive.

Give your time to Mass if it is being offered; otherwise a quiet visit in the cathedral, and the fact of the hill

Confirm Mass with the Archdiocese. There is no ticketed admission.

If the day runs short: If you only have the afternoon, skip Lubaga and begin at Munyonyo. You will lose the diocese. Do not skip both Lubaga and Munyonyo in order to 'do' Namugongo.

Hours, history and sources
Drive south from Lubaga toward the lake, Makindye. This is Kampala. Namugongo is not.
Late morning, after the drive south

Uganda Martyrs Basilica, Munyonyo

Plan on about 1 hour 15 minutes

This is the court. In May 1886 the pages were condemned here. Charles Lwanga baptized four catechumens here as death approached. Andrew Kaggwa was killed here. Denis Ssebuggwawo was killed here. Joseph Mukasa was already dead, in 1885; do not put him in this procession. Sit in adoration if the Divine Mercy chapel is keeping it. Then go to the tomb the shrine marks for Andrew.

Give your time to the ground of the court, Andrew Kaggwa's tomb, and adoration if it is being kept

Confirm Mass and adoration at munyonyo-shrine.ug. The Denis marker is a different structure from the basilica.

If the day runs short: If the day is collapsing, pray at the basilica and at Andrew's tomb, and still go to Namugongo. Do not reverse that.

Hours, history and sources
Drive east, out of Kampala into Kira Municipality, Wakiso District. About eleven kilometers as the shrine measures it from the city. Traffic is part of the day.
Afternoon, allowing for Kampala traffic eastward

Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo

Plan on about 1 hour 30 minutes

This is the end of the day's geography, not a single shrine for all twenty-two. Thirteen were killed on this hill on June 3 1886. Charles Lwanga was among them. The other nine died in other places. Approach the altar the shrine associates with his martyrdom. Stay for Mass if it is being offered. The Anglican shrine is another place, further east. Do not collapse them.

Give your time to the altar, prayer before the relic the shrine tradition identifies as St. Charles Lwanga if it is there to venerate, and Mass if offered

Confirm Mass with the shrine. Office hours on the website are not basilica hours. Not on June 3 as this ordinary sequence.

If the day runs short: If you arrive late, still enter and pray. Do not treat a locked hour as a reason to photograph the roof from the car.

Hours, history and sources

When plans bend

Adapting these days

If you only have a morning

Lubaga and Munyonyo, or Namugongo alone. Three shrines in three hours will be photography, not prayer.

If you want Mass at every stop

Build the clock around published liturgies, not around this sequence. Lubaga and Munyonyo are working churches. Namugongo is a parish shrine. Confirm all three the day before.

If you are here on June 3

Do not run this as a driving itinerary. Namugongo that day is a national pilgrimage. Come with a parish. Use Lubaga and Munyonyo on another day.

If you want to include the Anglican shrine

It is a further, distinct site at Namugongo. This guide does not schedule it. If you add it, keep the Catholic basilica and the Anglican shrine obviously separate, and do not call Anglican martyrs Catholic saints.

If you cannot manage a vehicle day

Choose one place and stay. Namugongo if the martyrs are why you came. Lubaga if the living Church is why you came. Do not attempt the three on public transport without local help and extra hours.

My Journey

Make these days your own

Lubaga first, for Mass if possible. Munyonyo late morning. Namugongo afternoon, in Kira, not in central Kampala. Confirm Mass at all three. Do not walk the modern roads as the 1886 path. Do not do this on June 3 as an ordinary drive.

3 places across 1 days, each in the day and order the guide gives it
The days arrive already built; reorder them, move a place, or drop one whenever you like
Works without an account, in this browser

You choose the journey it joins before anything is saved.

Editorial responsibility

How this guide was prepared

Prepared by: Eternal Roam Editorial
Responsible editor: Luke Gordon, Eternal Roam
Last reviewed: September 2026
Verification: Desk researched

Researched and editorially reviewed from official Church, shrine, transport, and other reliable sources. Confirm current practical details with the official sources before travel.

Built over the Kampala destination records. Historical division of the twenty-two (thirteen at Namugongo, nine elsewhere; four baptisms at Munyonyo) follows Paul VI, Sancti martyres, October 18 1964. Papal visits follow Vatican.va. Distances follow the shrines and the Archdiocese of Kampala. Current Mass is not invented: confirm with each place. The modern vehicle day is not the 1886 forced march.

Opening hours, Mass times and access change; each place page above carries its current sources. How Eternal Roam researches and reviews its guides is described in our editorial standards.

Sources consulted

Paul VI, Sancti martyres (Litterae Decretales), October 18 1964 Holy See
Francis, greeting to catechists at Munyonyo, November 27 2015 Holy See
Francis, Holy Mass for the Martyrs of Uganda, Namugongo, November 28 2015 Holy See
Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine Namugongo Archdiocese of Kampala
Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine Conventual Franciscans / Archdiocese of Kampala
Archdiocese of Kampala Archdiocese of Kampala

Photo credits

Guide hero: From Munyonyo to Namugongo: Following the Uganda Martyrs. Wulman83 / Wikimedia Commons. Source. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Day 1, photo 1: Munyonyo is the beginning: the court of May 1886, and Mass on that ground. Wulman83 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Day 1, photo 2: Namugongo is a parish at prayer, in the round, at the place of Charles Lwanga's martyrdom. Z thomas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Source. CC BY 4.0.