Apolo Kivebulaya: the Ugandan missionary who carried the gospel into the Congo forest

Most stories of mission in Africa focus on Europeans travelling south. Apolo Kivebulaya’s story runs the other way, from one African people to another. A former soldier from Buganda, he became an evangelist in the 1890s and walked west, first to Toro in western Uganda and then across the border into the Congo. There, at a place called Mboga, he spent much of his life serving communities few outsiders knew. He became one of the most loved figures in the history of the church in East and Central Africa.

Early life and conversion

Apolo was born in Buganda in the 1860s, during a time of upheaval in the kingdom. As a young man he served as a soldier and was caught up in the conflicts between rival religious and political factions in the 1880s and 1890s. He came into contact with Anglican missionaries and was baptised in 1895, taking the name Apolo, after Apollos in the New Testament. Soon afterwards he volunteered as a catechist and evangelist.

Toro and Mboga

He was sent to Toro, west of Buganda, where the church was beginning to grow. He taught, preached and helped establish congregations. His work was not without suffering: at one stage he was beaten and imprisoned during local unrest.

Apolo crossed into the Congo and worked at Mboga, near the edge of the Ituri forest. He served there for many years, building a church and school and travelling to surrounding villages.

Forest peoples and his character

He made contact with the forest peoples of the Ituri, learning about their way of life and sharing the gospel with them. He is remembered for his patience and his respect for the communities he served. Apolo was ordained in the Anglican church, and later became a canon. Even so, he lived simply, walking long distances and owning little.

Those who knew him described his constant cheerfulness, his habit of greeting everyone and his willingness to serve. Stories of his kindness circulated widely in Uganda and beyond.

Death and remembrance

Apolo Kivebulaya died on 30 May 1933. At his request, he was buried at Mboga, facing towards the forest where he had worked. The Church of England and other Anglican churches remember him on 30 May. Churches in Uganda and Congo still honour his memory. Apolo asked to be buried facing the forest rather than his homeland. He had walked away from Buganda decades earlier and, by his own choice, he never turned back.