This year, like it was in June 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been no pilgrimage to Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, due to the Ebola outbreak. That this is happening again just five years after Covid-19 and again due to a disease outbreak, should be of concern to Ugandans, regarding the safety of our future. Population explosion has meant increased encroachment on the natural habitats of animals and a diversification of what can be eaten by humans, which means that diseases that were formerly so rare, are now a regular occurrence. Ebola is spread through human contact with fruit bats and some primates, and currently the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is under a fully-fledged epidemic, with some cases spilling over into Uganda. According to the Ministry of Health, Uganda now has nine confirmed Ebola cases, while DRC has more than 300. When the first two cases were confirmed last month, President Yoweri Museveni cancelled Martyrs Day celebrations, as well as pilgrims walking to Namugongo as is Catholic tradition since 1920. Some thought it was rather too drastic a measure to inconvenience the thousands of pilgrims from all over the world, just because of two DRC natives found in Uganda with the Ebola Bundibugyo strain. With Uganda’s stellar record in handling epidemics and pandemics right from, HIV/Aids to the Ebola outbreak in Gulu in 1999/2000, Covid 19, to the current Ebola outbreak, Christians will have to trust their government on the decision to halt Namugongo celebrations that bring together pilgrims in their tens of thousands. The fact that the main celebrants this year were Kasese diocese right at the border with DRC, the logistics and technicalities of monitoring everyone coming to Namugongo from Kasese and other border districts such as Arua, would have been a health nightmare. So, for what it is worth, we wish our Christian brothers and sisters happy Martyrs Day celebrations, even when they will not be as expected. The spiritual and business loss occasioned by a cancellation of the day is not lost on anyone, but let us be safe, first. May the sacrifice of the 45 martyrs – 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican – killed at Namugongo between 1885 and 1887 be at the centre of today’s celebrations, and may the morals, integrity and faith they gave their lives up for, not be in vain.The post For what it is worth, happy Martyrs Days! appeared first on The Observer.