One of the first books I've read is A Distant Grief by F. Kefa Sempangi. A Distant Grief recounts the story of the harrowing days, months, and years of the reign of terror of Idi Amin. The book is beautifully written with pearls of inspiration, wisdom and faithfulness on every page . The subject matter of Amin's brutel atrocities is heavy and burdensome. However, A Distant Grief has left me awestruck of the the true spirituality and evangelicalism that converted murderers and sustained Christians in the face of human rights atrocities.
I was struck, probably naively, when Sempangi describes in Chapter 8, "On February 13, 1972 Idi Amin made a short trip to Libya....In Libya, Amin convinced Colonel Qaddafi and other Arab leaders that Uganda was a Muslim nation....Libya alone contributed over 30 million dollars 'to eliminate the few remaining Christians and turn Uganda into a Muslim state." page 81
I was 3 years old when this happened. There are countless people living in Uganda today who witnessed Amin's atrocities first hand. Adults who were orphaned 40 years ago when one or both of their parents were tortured and murdered in front of them. Sempangi isn't describing history that happened hundred's of years ago, he's is describing the lives of people who endured the unimaginable and who are living in Kampala and throughout Uganda today.
What became of these children? For a time Sempangi took them in in the orphanage he founded called Kijomanyi Foundation Children's Home of Kampala. However, the orphan crises grew and for every child they took in, ,more were turned away. What became of those who were turned away?
He tells of the atrocities because without describing the horrific scenes that played out day after day, how would we understand? The US and the rest of the world, at the time, claimed Amin was merely, "an international buffoon whose strange exploits bemused the civilized world." page 136
Yet, that is not the message of Sempangi's book. The message is clear and on almost every page of the 189 page book, that Jesus suffered for our sins and in that suffering offered each person eternal life...not here on earth but in Heaven.
These people were brave. They were steadfast in their faith despite the conditions they were living. Still, among the tortured, thousands upon thousands of people gave their lives to Jesus after hearing the word of God from Sempangi and the church he helped form church call the Redeemed Church in Kampala. One night while running from the Nubian Army, and elder in the church, Kiwanuka, said "We are persecuted for the hope that lives in us. Our hope is the Resurrection. We have nothing to worry about, Christ will fulfill our claims." page 149
Sempangi himself was once held at gunpoint and told by those who held him hostage that they would kill him. They told him that if he needed to say something before he died, he should do it quickly. He responded by saying, "I do not need to plead my own cause. I am a dead man already. My life is dead and hidden in Christ. It is your lives that are in danger, you are dead in your sins. I will pray to God that after you have killed me, He will spare you from eternal destruction." page 119
His testimony and faith shocked his one of the mercenaries who asked, "I saw widows and orphans in your congregation. I saw them singing and giving praise. Why are they happy when death is so near?" page 121 Sempangi responded, "Because they are loved by God. He has given them life, and will give life to those they loved, because they died in Him." This killer of 1,000's would go on to repent his sins and live in the word of God.
A Distant Grief is a remarkable testament to the word of God and redemption. The book is as engaging and inspiring today as it was when Sempangi wrote it in 1979.
