Today in History: Martin Luther Nsibirwa Assassinated Outside Namirembe Cathedral

What the report says

Nile Post reports that on September 5, 1945, Martin Luther Nsibirwa, the Katikkiro of Buganda, was assassinated on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe, in Kampala. According to the article, he had arrived for morning prayers when a lone gunman, identified as Wamala, shot him at close range. The attacker was reportedly arrested after the shooting.

The killing came less than 24 hours after Nsibirwa signed a land law allowing the compulsory acquisition of mailo land at Makerere Hill for the expansion of Makerere College, which later became Makerere University. The land issue was highly contentious in Buganda, with conservative chiefs, landlords and other traditionalists opposing the transfer of more kingdom land to the colonial administration.

Nile Post places the assassination in the wider context of political unrest in 1945, including strikes and disturbances that had exposed dissatisfaction with colonial economic policies and kingdom leadership. Nsibirwa had been recalled to office in July 1945 by Governor Sir Charles Dundas, who viewed him as a decisive leader capable of restoring order and advancing reforms.

The article says Nsibirwa had previously served as Katikkiro from 1929 to 1941 and was known for reform-minded work on public health, sanitation and utilities. His death is presented as a defining moment in colonial-era Uganda, symbolizing the clash between modern education projects, colonial authority and Buganda’s land politics.