The Gay King of the Buganda

Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda at the end of November is likely to reignite a celebration of the Ugandan martyrs. But just how much of what we know about their story is true?

In the early 1870s, Henry Morton Stanley published a letter in London. The letter, purported to be from the King of the Buganda, Muteesa I, was an open invitation for missionaries of all Christian denominations to his kingdom. Its authenticity is disputed but it did not stop several missions from sending representatives to the Ugandan monarchy. The most famous of this men was Alexander Mackay, a Scot who settled among the Buganda, died and was buried in what is now Uganda.

Muteesa I was a political genius. Acknowledging the religious pressures emerging in his kingdom, he chose to play the sides instead of siding with any of them. He was more personally inclined towards Islam but allowed Catholics, Protestants, and traditional religions to thrive, but only so much as to limit each others growth. The threat of colonial domination was in the horizon but would not be as real as it would be for his successor.

On October 9th, 1884, Kabaka Muteesa I died and was succeeded by his sixteen year-old son, Mwanga II. Buganda tradition has no concept similar to the Crown Prince, where a monarchs successor is known before the reigning one dies. Instead, the Kabaka selects a successor from among his sons, and never the firstborn son, who then reveals himself after his father dies. This is a how a sixteen year-old man called Mwanga II became the Kabaka of the Buganda.



His fathers strategy of playing the sides had duped all three sides to believe he preferred them over each other. The letters of the missionaries back home praised the Kabaka and his wisdom, and influenced Britains early foreign policy with the Buganda. Mwanga II faced a different set of problems.

Kabaka Mwanga IIs tumultuous rule is most remembered for the murders of tens of Christian Buganda men and that of Bishop James Hannington of the Church Missionary Society. The generally accepted reason for the brutal killings, often including some form of slow torture with fire, is that the 45 young men were killed because they refused to sleep with the king. They refused because of their new faith and the encouragement of the missionaries. In 1964, the 22 of the men were canonized and are now regarded as saints. History exalted them and vilified the serial rapist and homosexual that Mwanga became, at least in the records.

'Blanketeers' continue to wrap kids in need

What kid doesn’t like a blanket?

My two young daughters cherish theirs. So much that my oldest insists on keeping her big comforter on even on warm nights and my youngest refuses to let go of any of the three, four or five blankets she has on her bed. They sure make nice hideaways for the myriad stuffed animals.

For nearly 20 years, dozens of volunteers armed with sewing machines, knitting needles, crochet hooks and countless yards of fabric have been giving local kids an opportunity for similar comforting experiences.

The Green Bay chapter of Project Linus each month delivers handmade blankets and quilts to hospitals, hospice providers, child-advocacy centers and other social services programs in northeastern Wisconsin. Group members packed about 800 Disney-themed blankets to comfort frightened students after a school-day hostage standoff at Marinette High School in November 2010.

And, a few times each year, the colorful creations help causes outside Wisconsin, including the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors that supports kids and others who are grieving the loss of a loved one who died while serving in the military.

The purpose of Project Linus, a national nonprofit organization, is to give a security blanket to children in crisis — those who are sick or abused and neglected.

“It’s not something you just whip up,” said Jill Draves, longtime coordinator of the Green Bay chapter, about the blankets. “You do have fun, and you know you’re making it for a kid.”

For their latest feat, Draves and 10 fellow “blanketeers,” as she likes to call them, turned what was supposed to be Project Linus’ Make a Blanket Day on Feb. 18 into a monthlong contest.

With simple marching orders of “Now, get creative!” from their chapter leader, the local Project Linus volunteers designed 12 baby quilts for sale.

Before they are sent to the boys and girls who need them, the quilts will be on display through next month at the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Artisan and Business Center in Green Bay’s Olde Main Street District. NWTC allows Project Linus to hold its gatherings one Saturday a month in a textiles studio at the college's off-campus center on the city’s east side.

The blanketeers worked off “Calendar Babies” book panels to design the quilts. Draves said bolts of the panels, featuring a different infant theme and saying for each of the 12 months of the year, were donated by the book manufacturer for use by Project Linus chapters across the country after the panels were printed out of order.

Draves and the other participants completed their quilts on their own or at a recent chapter meeting, utilizing the long-arm quilting machines at the NWTC workshop. Lynn Konitzer, a quilting instructor at the college, made two baby quilts in a day.

“I’m a speeder; I’m a speed quilter,” she quipped.

Though there’s no record of a citation ever given for operating a sewing machine at excessive speeds, a jury of the public will decide who made the best blanket in the baby quilt challenge. A voting fundraiser is being conducted through March 11. The designer of the quilt with the most votes will receive a whole lot of fabric. Proceeds from the ticket sales for the voting will stay with the local chapter to fund more blanket-making projects.

“It’s a good social (activity),” said Draves, a full-time worker who's the youngest of the blanketeers.