- 1953-08-25 — Soon after becoming a Bahá'í in Kampala, Enoch Olinga, together with fellow new believers Max Kanyerezi and Samson Mungono,
responded to the Guardian's call and left his home in Uganda, to fulfill pioneering goals accompanied by Persian pioneers
Ali and Violette Nakhjavání. Leaving in late August 1953 they traveled for almost 3 months, covering a distance
of over 5000 kilometers.
The first leg took them to Samson Mungono's post in
Kamina, in the Katanga region of the Belgian Congo. They then took a grueling route to
Brazzaville, where Max was dropped off and continued through the thick forests of French
Congo and Gabon, hoping to pass through French Cameroons and finally reach the British
Cameroons. The car broke down in the tropical forest of Gabon leaving the three remaining friends unable to continue. Enoch volunteered to walk
to a town 50 miles ahead through the forbidding jungle to get help.
Upon arrival Enoch was so ill he was hospitalized for two days and could not travel for a week. He told of a dream he had in which Shoghi Effendi took him in his arms to comfort and reassure him in his desperation.
In mid-October they reached the British Cameroons on the very evening of the conclusion of the Holy Year.
Confirmations of the monumental efforts these first African pioneers made soon followed:
Enoch, Max and Samson all successfully brought many local people under the banner of the
Greatest Name.
[A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4] - 1953-10-50 — Max Kanyerezi, a Ugandan, was brought to Brazzaville by Violette and 'Alí Nakhjavání and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for French Equatorial Africa. [BW13:451]
- 2003-08-29 —
The celebration of the Jubilee of the opening of the Faith in the Republic of the Congo was commemorated in Brazzaville by 200 attendees. It was in 1953 that Ali and Violette Nakhjavani dropped off pioneer Max Kanyerezi in Brazzaville in the Middle Congo as it was then called, subsequently the "French Congo" and now "The Republic of the Congo".
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All Bahá'í activities were suspended by law from 1978 until 1992 when a democratically elected government replaced the Communist regime. The new government granted legal recognition of the Faith. During the years 1992 to 2003 the country endured two civil wars which further disrupted activity. There are now 20 local spiritual assemblies. [BWNS246]
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