Devita Bazallaki Stephano at her home in Ukerewe, Mwanza, with her daughter (far right) Restituta Gregory and other family members. Devita is the great granddaughter of Matia Mulumba.
IN probably the first story of its kind, the Daily Monitor today brings you stories of Uganda Martyrs descendants, in a tale that takes you from Namugongo to Luweero and on to Ukerewe, an island on Lake Victoria, in Tanzania.
The descendants of Matia Mulumba, the Catholic martyr who has gone on to be beatified and declared a saint, are currently living on the Ukerewe Island, found just a three-and-a-half hours’ sail from the Tanzanian port town of Mwanza. Many, of course have since moved on, some living and working in Mwanza, other parts of Tanzania, and, some rumoured to have come back to Uganda.
She dressed simply, in a dress, a light blue one checked with leafy designs, and a white kanga with blue leaves dotted all over it, wrapped around her from the waist, downwards. A head scarf was tightly knotted around her head, to complete a typical female African fashion look.
And it was while here, at the practice session, that she picked word of a Ugandan team that was doing rounds in search of descendants of Matia Mulumba. By then, we had been going around in circles in the village, for a little over an hour. Having run into stonewalls and with hardly a thing to show for it, we were just about to call off that leg of the journey, as another frustrating cold dead end.
Then she rose up to her feet, stood and told her choir master, who had broken the news to her, that her mother may know a thing or two about what we sought. The choir leader led her over to us, as we prepared to leave.
And just like that, we had finally landed on the first direct descendant from the line of St Matia Mulumba, the martyr.
54-year old Restituta Gregory, a calm woman who chose to sift through her words before she spoke, peered long and hard at us. “My mother knows something about him,” she said. “What would you want with them?” she added after we read off a list of names of Matia Mulumba’s children, wondering whether she recognised any.
It was clear, from the onset, that Ms Gregory was exercising caution in her discourse with us. She knew more than she was telling, and for a while, you sensed that she was not sure whether she should trust us. The Tanzanian journalist, Moses Mathew who was part of the team and in charge of translation launched into a charm offensive to Ms Gregory, telling jokes and little nothings, to ease her up.
Slowly, her questioning gaze started giving way to smiles and short bursts of laughter. She lightened up, probably realising that we were not after any mischief after all. She told us about herself, that she had no husband, but had six children, two sons and four daughters. She did not explain further. She proceeded to lead us to her mother, who she said knew all about Matia Mulumba. And it is here that it all came together like a jigsaw.
Devita Bazalaki Stephano, at 89-years-old, sat out in the yard behind her house, on a brown papyrus mat. The signs of old age, wore down on her like a mask. She shivered as she tried to move her muscles up to speak, even when there was no breeze from the sea and the afternoon tropical sun was in full force.
She tried her best smile, and yes, her eyes welled as she beamed with joy on learning that Ugandans had come all the way to Tanzania to look for her. She is one of a few Matia Mulumba descendants that have gone on to carry a Ugandan name, in this case, Bazalaki. And her grandmother, Julia Namukadde, the only known surviving child of Matia Mulumba, had taught her a few Luganda words. In her efforts to greet us, therefore, a webale nyo here, a nsanyuse nyo there and a ssebo.
The conversation was kept short, because she could not speak much. She directed us to her younger brother, a Venasio John Ruhutta, who she said had documented the entire history of the Matia Mulumba family and all its exploits.
She, however, summoned just enough strength to tell us how she descended from the saint. “Julia (Namukadde) gave birth to my father, John Museso Malima,” she said. She spoke of Julia with fondness. “She took very good care of me since I was a child. She died after I had got one child,” Ms Stephano said of Julia. “She was very firm, as a parent, but not very harsh. She used to tell us to be disciplined and advise her grandchildren to behave well. If you did something wrong, she would ask, “Why don’t you behave well?”
Ms Stephano gave birth to 12 children, two of who have since died.
When it was time to say goodbye, a few children were dispatched off into the gardens to get presents for the visitors. Yes, in this home, we were not treated as prying vultures like journalists are known to be, but as visitors. Ukerewe could as well be the cradle of all things orange and tangerine. And out of the family’s labours, they presented a bag of oranges to the team, such a show of warmth and hospitality that seemed to say, please, do come back again.
We, however, did not meet with this same level of hospitality at the home of Venansio John Ruhuta, Ms Stephano’s young brother. He, the knowledgeable source on the history and current affairs of the Matia Mulumba family, treated our visit with suspicion. “Who directed you here?” he asked, a small part of a long line of inquiry, which simply seemed to say that we were not trustworthy enough to give information.
He mistrusted our intentions. “What you are doing has no spiritual value,” he said. “I will only talk to the priest who directed you here, because he is doing God’s work; you are only interested in printing and making money,” he added. He barred us from taking any photos.
Mr Ruhutta is a 79-year-old man who runs a guesthouse, just outside Nansio Port, the main gateway into Ukerewe Island. He is a dark stocky man, about 5ft 8’, with grey hair neatly combed backwards. His house speaks of a possession belonging to a staunch believer in his faith. Portraits of the Virgin Mary are around and about in the living room.
-www.monitor.co.ug