An East African Revival Story

It was during his final year in Mbagathi that Godfrey responded to God’s call on his life.  A missionary named Mr. Johnston, whose ministry was to reach out to the students at the training institution approached Godfrey and shared with him the words of salvation using the words of Revelation 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the doorI will come into him and sup with him and he with me.”  After a discussion with Mr Johnston he struggled internally that afternoon and went to the soccer field alone and prayed to accept God’s call. Following that talk Godfrey accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior on April 1st 1951.  He felt a burden fall off his back and went back into the dormitory to let his friends know.  Their response to him was to ask for his cigarettes. He hesitated then gave them that pack in his pocket and retained one cigarette.  He lit it up that cigarette and it did not taste the same as always and that was the last cigarette he ever smoked. An answer to his aunt Mariamu’s prayer and vision. Another note to make is that at the time of his conversion experience his sister Esther Nyenshaija who was back in Ankole later told Godfrey that she had had a vision of this event and knew that he had accepted Christ as his personal Savior and Lord.

He immediately got connected with the brethren in the Nairobi fellowship of the East African Revival and was filled with excitement at his new found faith. Godfrey’s life made a complete turn around.  He completed his course at Mbagathi that year and returned to Uganda to start work.  He was embraced by the East African Revival (balokole) movement in Uganda.

The East African Revival movement that started around 1929 in Kampala was in its second decade during the early fifties when Godfrey was in Mbagathi.  The revival movement had been started by the movement of the Holy Spirit amongst the souls of yearning men.  A regular meeting of young men who worked in the local government including a humble British missionary medical doctor, Dr. Joe Church, Blasio Kigozi and his brother Simeoni Nsibambi.  These young men in their twenties would meet in the Synod hall at Namirembe Cathedral for prayer and this resulted in the movement of the Holy Spirit in the entire East African region.  Dr Church was posted to Gahini, Rwanda another Anglican mission station and the work continued with other young men like Yosia Kinuka.  The movement grew exponentially with such evangelical fervor. Peoples lives were changed and the very culture of this region was changed.  The balokole challenged the status quo.  Not only did their faith become vibrant but tribal norms were challenged, from names to totems to eating habits. They travelled across the region and the unifying movement was identified by the revival song “Tukutendereza Yesu“.  This song could be heard in Mombasa-Kenya, Arusha-Tanzania, Goma-Congo, Lira-Uganda at gatherings of the faithful.  This was indeed an indigenous spiritual revival and is still going till this day.

Godfrey’s first posting was in Masaka, where he was taken in by the fellowship in town.  The Lukwago, Baddu and Bugembe families embraced him.  They taught him in his young years the walk of humility and faith.  He then returned to Mbagathi for some further training and it was a very different experience as he was used to lead fellow students to the Lord and enjoyed fellowship with the brethren in Nairobi. It was during this time that he felt a deep conviction to return home to witness this great message to his own elderly father.

Upon his return to Kampala, Godfrey shared this conviction with the elders who urged him to calm down and let God’s will take control.  However he was very sure that God had told him his father would come to know Jesus. He travelled to Ntungamo where his father was.  When he arrived he sat down and let his father know what had happened to him and urged him to consider Christ.  His father immediately recognized the message and right there and then prayed for Christ to come into his life. Godfrey described the prayer as a conversation between the old man and God and at the end of it he repeated ‘Amen’ three times.  Godfrey was excited and happy to see this happen.  His father then proceeded to remove all the equipment and items he used for his soothsaying and fortune telling from his house and started a bonfire to destroy them all.  Later Godfrey reached out to his mother Pharesi and her mother Elizabeth and they all accepted Christ too.  After many years of separation his father and mother were reconciled.  His father got baptized and took the name of Simeon.  Just like Simeon in the New Testament he had finally seen the Lord in his old age.

Godfrey got posted to Kabale and yet again fellowshipped with brethren there too.  The testimony of these elders shaped Godfrey’s life for years to come. After Kabale he was posted back to Kampala and decided not to take the housing provided by his job at East African Post & Telecommunications (EAP&T).  Instead he opted to live with Christian families as a child in their homes and receive the nurturing he needed to grow spiritually.  He began in Kabowa with the Lugemwa family.  He then moved to Nansana where he stayed with Mukulu Samalie in the home of the Lukwago family.  The Lukwago’s were still in Masaka where Yosia Lukwago was still working with the EAP&T.

At this time Godfrey owned a bike and rode to work in the Telephone House in downtown Kampala every day.  After a few years he was excelling at his work as a telephone technician and this was recognized by his superiors.  They chose to promote him to the Asian grade and this came with a lump sum payment of arrears amounting to about 13,000 Uganda shillings.  He told the elders in the fellowship and they were pleased for him. When asked what his plans were for so much money he let them know of his dream to buy a motorbike.  The brethren then advised him against this and instead asked him to buy a car since it could be used to further the spiritual work of Christ in the area. He had learned well and humbled himself to their guidance.  He then recalls the story of how they chose the car he would buy.  A few of the brethren including Rev. Matovu and Mr. Nyonyitono, went to the auto store and looked at different cars.  There was a discussion as to what size the car should be and Taata Matovu thought a big car would be good since it could take more brethren as they travelled to their different mission trips. However Taata Nyonyintono prevailed and reminded them that Godfrey was a young man and his earnings would not be able to handle the petrol bills and maintenance. Godfrey’s first car was a Morris Minor.

Not only did the brethren buy the car but they taught him how to drive it.  After work he would bike to the place where he was to receive his driving lessons and the car was brought by Taata Nyonyintono.  He would complete his lesson, get back on his bike and make his way home to Nansana. He finally got his drivers license and started driving the car.  Mukulu Samalie then noticed a change in Godfrey.  He would come home in the car after a long day at work and park it at home.  Mukulu Samalie would then remind him that he had to go the well and bring back a tin can (ddebe) of water.  The well was inaccessible by car.  His attitude to this daily chore changed after he got his car … and she made it a point to let him know it. ” .. owoluganda Godfrey kilabikka nti emotokka eno egyakutuletela ekizibu” (brother Godfrey it looks like this car is going to bring us some problems).  He would then get the ddebe and head off for the well. The car surely accomplished the work of the Lord too with or without Godfrey.  Somedays he would park his car at work and the brethren would pass by his workplace to pick up the keys and drive off to some outreach mission.  A great lesson in fellowship, community and humility.

Godfrey was known around Kampala as a young man of vibrant energy for spreading the gospel to all and sundry.  He was single and free to expend his energy with mission trips and fellowship matters.  He had a deep respect for the elders especially Taata Nyonyintono and Taata Mondo.  He spent a lot of time with Yona Mondo.  As time went by the brethren were interested in finding a mate for Godfrey although he seemed to be just fine as a single man. A few ideas of young ladies were brought forward and he found one reason or another to not move forward with these suggestions.  It was after a mission outreach to Bweranyangi Secondary School by a team of brethren that included Reverands Festo Kivengere and Peter Kigozi that a young teacher by the name of Jane Kentembwe made a commitment to salvation that things changed.  Peter Kigozi and Festo Kivengere immediately thought that she would make a good match for Godfrey.  They came back to Kampala and let Godfrey know their thoughts.  He recognized her name from teaching her in Sunday school so many years ago in Mbarara.  Godfrey knew she was from a good family and was also well educated.  He then agreed to follow through with the courtship .  He made his intentions known and Jane and her family accepted his request for her hand in marriage.  Jane’s oldest brother was a magistrate in the local courts in Ankole, George Nathan Patrick Kirindi.  A well educated man with an obsession for all things Shakespeare.  He struck up a good friendship with Godfrey that lasted for their whole lives.  Godfrey took Jane to meet his father who at the time was nearing 100 years of age and she was warmly received too.  Godfrey and Jane got married on May 6, 1961 in St James Cathedral, Ruharo, Mbarara.

When Godfrey started his training in Mbagathi, he was a young man searching for purpose in his life.  He always said that he struggled with the idea of not being good enough. He envied his classmates in Mbarara High School for their better upbringing while he was raised in poverty.  This was a motivation to succeed in life on his own.

Uganda at that time was a protectorate of the British Empire, which was different from Kenya.  Kenya was a colony of the British Empire. By being a protectorate the British had recognized that indirect rule was their best option in Uganda because they found five Kingdoms already established with working governments and tax collection systems.  They settled in Entebbe as the government center and ruled through agreements with the different kings. The British therefore never took property and settled in the country like they did in neighboring Kenya.

At the time of Godfrey’s entry into Kenya there was strife as the Kenyan people started to struggle for their eventual independence from the British. The working society was divided along racial lines in Kenya.  The Post and Telecommunication Department had three levels of workers, the Caucasians, the Indians and the Africans.  So even in the training institution that Godfrey was enrolled in, the divisions were clear.  Being from Uganda where the divisions were not so blatant, he grew uncomfortable with the status quo and together with a few restless friends started a strike against the administration of the school.  The strike was forcefully stopped and fortunately for Godfrey he was not expelled unlike his friends. A story he relates is that he was posted in Entebbe for some training during his time at Mbagathi and his youthful ego was in full swing.  He was known as “prince” amongst the locals and he had some money and was a sharp dresser.  He had now become a chain smoker, wore a hat and had a carved walking stick.  A funny incident he recalls is one of his attempts at befriending a beautiful girl in Kitoro which almost ended up with a severe beating from her boyfriend, but he got out of it with his skillful speech.

A recollection of the life story of our father, Godfrey Rushariza Rwakitarate.

The Early Years (1927-1949)

Godfrey Rwakitarate was born near Sanga township in Nyabushozi County in Ankole Kingdom in Uganda, a protectorate of the United Kingdom, during the month of July, 1927.  His aunt, Mariamu Kakibara, a younger sister to his father Simeon Rushariza was one of the first converts to Christianity in Ankole Kingdom at the turn of the century.  Godfrey came to learn of his birth month because he later heard that his aunt Mariamu had travelled to Kampala when he was born to celebrate the Golden Anniversary (50 years) of the Anglican Church of Uganda.

His father, Simeon Rushariza, was of the sub-clan Abanyonzi of the main clan Abashambo.  Simeon  had two sisters.  His first sister Mariza Kitungikwa was captured and taken as a slave as a young girl during a battle between the Kingdom of Ankole and the Kingdom of Kooki.  His other sister, Mariamu Kakibara was given to the missionaries as a servant girl,  that had just come to western Uganda and through this relationship she became one of the first converts to Christianity in Ankole in 1902.  Simeon was very loyal to his prince, as there was a battle for succession to the throne of Ntare V in Ankole Kingdom in 1895.  The prince to whom he remained loyal was Prince Igumira, but  the prince that succeeded Ntare was Kahaya II.  Simeon left the court of the king and lived the life of his forefathers, a nomad in Nyabushozi and rejected the white missionaries and colonial administrators along with their religion whom Prince Igumira disliked.  Simeon and his sisters were related to the new Prime Minister of Ankole, Nuwa Mbaguta, through their mother Salome of the clan Beine-ishe Murari.

Simeon Rushariza had four children. Kukiroro his first child and son who later trained to become a medical assistant was not of the same mother as the other three.  Esther Nyenshaija, his second child and only daughter, was married to Mr. Nyenshaija and together they had nine daughters and one son, Tayebwa.  Ismail Buhwitsi, his second son, was in the employ of their first cousin Ananias Murumba, the son of their aunt, Mariamu Kakibara, who was a gombolola chief. The last child born to Simeon was Godfrey Rwakitarate.  Simeon’s wife and mother to the three younger children was called Pharesi. Soon after the birth of Godfrey, there was domestic conflict between Simeon and Pharesi and this led to Pharesi being sent back to her family.  Godfrey was then raised by Salome his paternal grandmother. He got his name Rwakitarate due to his big size as a baby. To soothe him when he was crying they would sing a lullaby in which they would say he looked like the overweight neighbor of the same name who had a plantation near by.  The name stuck on Godfrey and later after conversion to Christianity he used the name as his formal surname as most were apt to do.

Godfrey relates that as a little boy he loved to follow his father all around.  His father was known as a soothsayer and people came to him seeking answers about their different conditions.  He taught the little boy many sayings of the wise and also his craft.  Simeon would scatter some corn on the ground and the next morning read the positions of the kernels where the insects had moved them, similar to reading the grains in an empty coffee cup. Godfrey said that his father was very tough on him mainly because he looked like his mother who at the time was separated from his father.  As he grew his father wanted him to get an education as it appeared that was the best for him.  His first experience with school was special. His first cousin, Yonia Garubungo, daughter to his Aunt Mariamu, was at the time going to the court of the Kabaka of Buganda Daudi Chwa II in 1936.  So he got to escort his cousin to Kampala at the tender age of  9 years to help her.  He then attended an elementary school, Kayanja Primary School, with the other children in the Lubiri (Palace grounds).  This gave him a thirst for formal education.  Godfrey often told stories of his time in Kampala.  One story was, that as a young boy he would walk to the Kampala Golf Club and earn some money (ekinushu( 1 shilling)) by being a caddy to the European golfers.  He gave himself a Luganda name during the stay there of “Sekadduka” which ironically was not a name in the Baganda.  After about a school term in Buganda they went back to Ankole.

Godfrey converted to Christianity after moving back to Ankole while living with his aunt Mariamu Kaibara and her family. He was later baptized at ten years of age into the Anglican Church of Uganda.  Godfrey chose his name because he thought it was a striking and unique name. He then kept on with his education with the help of several relatives along the way since his family could not afford it.  The main supporters in his post primary education were three relatives.  These relatives were asked by his father, Rushariza, to assist in his education.  His first cousin, Anania Murumba who was a gombolola chief in Kashari, another relative Mr. David Cook who was also a saaza chief in Rwampara and finally another cousin Mr. William Kafureka who was also a saaza chief in Kajara.  These three men provided support for Godfrey till he completed junior high at Mbarara High School.  Stories about his time in Mbarara Junior High School were told over and over.  He remembered learning how to swim in River Ruizi, a risky venture. He also once escaped being caught by Mr Payne the headmaster while smoking and had to extinguish the cigarette in his pocket.  It was during his time there that he met a young girl, Jane Kentembwe, while teaching Sunday school at St James Cathedral, Ruharo.  Little did anyone know that she would later become his wife.

Upon graduation Godfrey seized on an opportunity to continue his education independently.  It was always his dream to better himself especially as he was acutely conscious of his humble roots.  The East African Community was starting a telephone technology school in Mbagathi near Nairobi, Kenya.  He applied and was accepted into the three-year training program and this began his life long career with the East African Posts and Telecommunication. So in 1949 he set off for neighboring Kenya and started his training as a telephone technician.  Before he departed from Ankole, his visionary aunt Malyamu Kakibara told him she had had a dream that during his training in Kenya he was to get converted to a life of faith in Christianity and that it was a white man that was to explain the gospel to him. He did not take this seriously as at the time he was living a life that did not reflect a faith in Christ. Godfrey was known for his chain smoking and chasing girls amongst other things.