Today in History: Museveni Baptised at Kinoni Church in 1947

What the report says

Nile Post reports that August 3, 1947 marked the baptism of a young Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at St Luke Church of Uganda in Kinoni, Rwampara. The article says the ceremony was part of an important moment in his early life and in his family’s move toward Christianity, and that it coincided with the church wedding of his parents, Amos Kaguta and Esteeri Kokundeka.

According to the publisher, the baptism was carried out by Rev. Eric Sabiiti, who later became the first African Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire. The family had travelled from Ntungamo to Kinoni the day before and stayed with friends before the Sunday service. Nile Post also recounts a childhood memory Museveni later associated with that journey, when he reportedly stepped on hot cigarette remains while walking barefoot home.

The article places the event in the broader arc of Museveni’s relationship with Christianity. It notes that he remained active in church life while at Ntare School and later shifted toward revolutionary politics at the University of Dar es Salaam. After becoming president in 1986, he promoted religious tolerance and non-sectarianism, while encouraging churches to pair spiritual teaching with practical themes such as work, agriculture and development.

Nile Post adds that Museveni returned to St Luke Church in 2017 with First Lady Janet Museveni for the 70th anniversary of his baptism, when church records were presented to confirm the 1947 entry.