THE STORY OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA
Apollo Kivebulaya also known as Kivebulaya of Tooro was a prominent Ugandan Anglican Missionary and evangelist. His life story is a testament to his dedication to Christianity and his efforts in spreading the
In 1885 Kivebulaya converted to Christianity after hearing the preaching of Missionary Alexander Mackey who was associated with a church missionary society.
The single call by the two unknown teachers from Tooro launched Apollo Kivebulaya into missions. When Apollo heard this call at once he began his missionary journey that was to last for 37 years. He actually spent half of his life in a missionary. A missionary in Tooro, a missionary in Boga Zaire, and a missionary among piggies. a Ugandan who totally gave his life totally to the cause of missions. His dying wish was ‘When I die please bury me with my head facing the forest because I am still going towards the forest to preach the gospel. Apollo Kivebulaya the Ugandan missionary to Boga Zaire and the Pigimies .
His friend for 30years almost wrote a book and he named it ‘’ Apollo the parth finder who follows. That book I think is available on Amazon I do not have it but its a book Apololo the parth finder who follows.
Let me borrow this tittle and to give you what I want to share about Apolo Kivebulaya
HIS BIRTH
His name initially was called Waswa Munubi, He was born in Single in 1864,his parents were peasants that farmed on a borrowed land that some well off Salongo Kisazi of Nvuma Clan and Nalongo Tezira Segabanda of the Ngabi clan. He was named Wasswa meaning the first boy of twins for he had a twin sister who died in child hood.
He was engaged for a short time before his bride died suddenly ,he decided to remain single and he later discovered that it was Gods will for him to remain single to fulfill his mission in Congo. As a child Waswa was raised religiously. He learnt witchcraft practices and traditional healing practices from a relative who escorted him carrying charms every time .
As child while growing he also gained some familiarity with Islam when King Mutesa 1 in 1856 & 1884 adopted Islam practices and requested his followers to do the same .This was during the old golden age of Islam, when Islam was thriving in Uganda. As a zealous young Moslem ,Washwa Munubi fought on the side of the Moslem, during the religious wars , he walked across of the Nubian soldier that had died in battle that’s how he got the name Munubi. The fighting was taught and tense and he decided to desert the army .
HOW DID HE CONVERT?
This witch doctor,this Moslem man who was born ahead of twins, how did he convert to Christianity? .
Before becoming a christian Waswa Munubi was a Moslem soldier who hated Christians and fought against them .He was an ardent Marguana smoker. He was short ,tough and a brutal man . Waswa Munubi was attracted by the christian life example of Alexander Marky who defended the gospel and a missionary from church missionary society who arrived in Uganda in 1878. Washwa Munubi said at that time I was reading Mathews gospel which I liked so much especially Mathew 5:13 . This message helped me to become a good christian and to abandon my military services. He watched Alexander Murky and he saw his life style and he decided to read the bible and when he reached Mathew 5:13’you are the salt of the world so and so on.. he deserted Islam and became a christian and abandoned the military service.
He started studying for baptism which was the most important in the contest then if you are not baptized you are not a christian. He studied baptismin 1894and was baptized January 27th in 1895.
One year of learning baptism .In June of the same year he became a catechist and followed basic biblical study programes in Namirembe . He gave himself to teaching children because Namirembe had many teachers so he was only left to teach children.
He was totally transformed by the gospel. When he was baptized he totally changed his identity.
He changed his name – He chose Appolo because of the Apolos in the acts 18:25 that was eloquent in his proclamation of the gospel
He chose the name Kivebulaya because he had shifted from Islam that was Arabic in the culture to Christianity that was brought by the Europeans. He changed his dress code to justify from the Arabic lifestyle to the English life style . He wore a jackect of the British soldier and a Kanzu. He used to put on the cross for the Nubian Moslem and he started putting on a coat and a Kanzu.
So the name Kivebulaya came from putting on something that comes from the west ‘Ekivebulaya’ that how his name came into existenceand he became Apolo Kivebulaya.
Two men came fromTooro and said they need teachers and Appolo Kivebulaya said I will be the first one to go. He left buganda in 1984and he died in 1933when he was a missionary in Tooro in Boga Zaire and among the Pygmies.
He has a lifestyle committed to the spreading of the gospel and willing to sacrifice his personal comfort.
HOW WAS HE CALLED TO THE MISSIONERY JOURNEY
In reading church history especially in Uganda you have to understand the politics of the land and they are working with the church then. So hes going to tooro also had some political connotations between Buganda and Tooro so I am going to take you briefly to this history.
Buganda sought to extent its influence to the neighbouring regions. The kingdom of Tooro had separated from the Bunyoro Kingdom from the 1830s and had allied with Buganda in the the 1890s to maintain its independence from Bunyoro .
Tooro and Buganda are friends for their own political reasons .The king of Tooro Daudi Kasagama then requested evangelists from Buganda who owed retention of his possession to Buganda and the British.
The decision by the mengo Church council chared by Appolo Kagwa to respond to this request from Tooro was a political act because they knew that if they send someone there we own them. So the church missionary society and the white fathers made an informal agreement that Tooro would be a catholic area . From the history of Uganda there is a time when the kingdom of Buganda was Anglican and other Kingdom were catholic and it was an agreement that was made