Kizito, Uganda's Youngest Martyr
Kizito was aged fourteen or fifteen when he died, the youngest of the Catholic martyrs of Uganda. Kizito’s biological father was Lukomera of the Lung-fish (Mamba) Clan and his mother was Wangabira of the Civet Cat (Fumbe) Clan.
Because of a blood-pact between the Lung-fish and Leopard Clans, and the assistance given by a member of the Lung-fish clan to Kiggwe of the Leopard clan, Kiggwe’s son Nyika adopted Kizito.
When Mwanga became a king, on his accession to the throne in 1884, he appointed Nyika a Guardian of the Royal Umbilical Cord. As a result of highly influential position given to Nyika in the palace, Kizito became a page in the king’s private apartments.
His tender age and good looks were a recipe for disaster as, Kizito reportedly turned into a target object of the king’s homosexual lust. But Kizito exhibited an admirable sense of maturity and prudence by rejecting the king’s advances having understood the evil of engaging in such unnatural sexual acts, according to an official biography.
Strengthened by the counsels of Charles Lwanga, he continued to resist the king’s unwelcome advances an aspect that enraged the king who then decided to kill the young boy. Kizito was among the twenty-two Catholic martyrs of Uganda, beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Pope Paul VI canonized them in 1964.
See more on Uganda Martyrs Wikipedia