St. Matia Mulumba Cell Group / Kabondo

Saint Matia Mulumba also known as Matthias Mulumba Kalemba is our patron saint as the Matia Mulumba christian cell group / Kabondo within UCCC. He was born in Bunya County in the kingdom of Busoga, Uganda; though his parentage is not known, he was captured along with his mother and brought to the kingdom of Buganda, where he was raised by his adopted father Magatto (uncle of chancellor Mukasa) of the Musu Clan as a free man.

Mulumba himself was of the Lugave clan a Musoga by tribe. After Magatto's death, Mulumba remained for a time with Buzibwa (Magatto's brother). Mulumba became supervisor of all other servants to the county chief of Ssingo, Ddumba, and head of his household. After Ddumba's death, he became the assistant to Mukwenda, Ddumba's brother.

He lived at the time of King Mutesa I and his son Mwanga II when Christianity and Islam came to Uganda between 1877 and 1879. Mulumba converted to Islam at first, but with the arrival of Anglican, and then Catholic, missionaries and their preaching, he decided to join them, and enrolled as a Catholic catechumen on May 31, 1880. He was baptized on May 28, 1882, by Pere Ludovic Girault, and organized a Christian community at his home in Mityana, where he gave instruction along with Nowa Mawaggali and Lukka Baanabakintu.

On May 25, 1886, while he was rebuilding Mwanga's palace (which had burned down on February 22) Mulumba, Charles Lwanga, Baanabakintu, and other pages were discovered and arrested by Mwanga and Mukwenda, and were imprisoned; and two days later, they were condemned to death. While Lwanga and his fellow pages were sent to Namugongo, Mulumba was taken to Old Kampala as he requested, where he was dismembered and roasted.

As he was dying, he said, "Surely God will deliver me, but you will not see how he does it. He will take my soul and leave you my body." He was around 50 years old when he died a lingering death that lasted from May 27 to May 30. Along with Lwanga and his companions, Mulumba was beatified in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV and canonized on October 18, 1964, by Pope Paul VI. He is the patron saint of chiefs and families; his joint feast day with Lwanga and 20 others is June 3.