The East African Revival: the Balokole movement that swept Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya

The revival began quietly, among a few missionaries and African Christians who met to pray and study the Bible. At Gahini in Rwanda, at a mission hospital in the late 1920s and early 1930s, people began confessing their sins openly and seeking a deeper faith. The movement spread to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and beyond. Its followers became known as the Balokole, the “saved ones”, and their influence shaped East African Christianity for generations.

Gahini, confession and fellowship

Gahini, in eastern Rwanda, was home to a mission hospital where the revival is often said to have begun. The British missionary doctor Joe Church and the Ugandan Christian Simeoni Nsibambi met in 1929, and their friendship and prayer helped spark the movement. The revival emphasised public confession of sin, repentance and reconciliation.

Revival fellowships met regularly for prayer, testimony and singing. The Luganda hymn “Tukutendereza Yesu”, meaning “We praise you, Jesus”, became the movement’s anthem.

Spread, tensions and Luwum

The revival spread through Anglican and other churches in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. Some church leaders worried about the movement’s intensity and its criticism of church authorities. Over time, it was largely embraced within the churches. The fellowship brought together people of different ethnic groups and missionaries and Africans on more equal terms.

Many church leaders in East Africa, including bishops, came from the revival tradition. Ugandan Archbishop Janani Luwum, martyred in 1977, was shaped by the revival. The revival remains part of the identity of many East African churches. It shows how African Christians took ownership of their faith.

Walking in the light and the conventions

Revival members spoke of “walking in the light”, meaning living openly and honestly before God and fellow believers. Confession was often public, and reconciliation between estranged people was encouraged as a sign of genuine faith. Critics found the practice intense, but many lives and relationships were changed by it. Large revival conventions drew thousands of people from different countries for days of preaching, prayer and singing.

Women played important roles as leaders and evangelists within the revival fellowships. Revival fellowships continue to meet in some East African churches today. The East African Revival started with two men praying together. Its anthem, “Tukutendereza Yesu”, is still sung across the region by people who never met either of them.