Festo Kivengere

Festo Kivengere

5 Sermons
Festo Kivengere (1919–1988). Born in 1919 in Rukungiri, southwestern Uganda, to a pagan ruling family of semi-nomadic pastoralists, Festo Kivengere became a prominent Anglican evangelist, often called “the Billy Graham of Africa.” Raised herding cattle, he learned of Christianity at age ten through a mission school, later becoming a teacher after higher education. Converted during the East African Revival in the 1930s, he embraced the Balokole (“saved ones”) movement, ordained as a deacon in the U.S. and priest in Uganda in 1967. As bishop of Kigezi (1972–1988), he preached forgiveness and reconciliation, notably during Idi Amin’s brutal regime. In 1973, he fled to Kenya after confronting Amin’s atrocities, including the 1977 murder of Archbishop Janani Luwum, returning after Amin’s 1979 downfall. Kivengere co-founded African Evangelistic Enterprise in 1969, spreading the Gospel across Africa, America, and Europe. His books, I Love Idi Amin (1977) and Revolutionary Love (1983, with Dorothy Smoker), reflect his radical forgiveness, famously stating, “On the cross, Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, because they know not what they do.’ As evil as Idi Amin is, how can I do less toward him?” Married to Mera, he had four daughters—Peace, Joy, Hope, and Charity—and died of leukemia on May 18, 1988, in Nairobi, saying, “The living Lord works among His people.”
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