Failed Attack on the Shrine of the Ugandan Martyrs

On the morning of 3 June, an explosion occurred roughly 500 meters from the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Munyonyo. The Ugandan Army (UPDF) reported that it happened during an anti-terrorism operation.

“A UPDF counter-terrorism unit intercepted and neutralized two armed terrorists in Munyonyo,” a spokesperson said according to Fides.org, adding that the mission had been intelligence-led.

Security remains heightened for Martyrs' Day celebrations.

Martyrs' Day honours 45 Ugandan converts — 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican — who were executed between 1885 and 1887 for refusing to commit homosexual acts with the king.

Declared a Minor Basilica in 2019, the Munyonyo Shrine attracts around 2.5 million pilgrims each year.

Preliminary reports suggest that the attackers were wearing explosive vests and were targeting the basilica.

“Our combat unit opened fire, sparking an explosion that killed them,” a military source said. The dismembered bodies of the terrorists were found at the scene, along with the remains of a motorcycle that was destroyed in the explosion.

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