Biography
Simeon Nsibambi was a Ugandan layman and one of the leading figures in the early years of the East African Revival, the great spiritual awakening that spread across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania from the 1930s. He was born in the late nineteenth century in the kingdom of Buganda, in a family of the Baganda people. He grew up in the years when the Anglican church was newly planted in the country and when the first generation of Ugandan Christians was passing from the scene. He was educated in a mission school and learned to read. He became a member of the Anglican church and worked as a teacher and a minor official.
He was a man of good standing and a leader in his community. For years, he lived a respectable Christian life, but he came to feel that his faith lacked power. In the late 1920s, he became hungry for a deeper life. He prayed and sought God. He was influenced by the teaching of a missionary doctor, Joe Church, and by his friend Blasio Kigozi, who had come from Rwanda and spoke of a work of the Spirit. He heard of the meetings at Gahini and was moved. In the early 1930s, he went through a deep experience of repentance. He confessed his sins and was filled with joy. He was one of the first in Buganda to testify of the new life.
He took part in the spread of the revival in Uganda. He traveled with teams of revival workers, who went from church to church and from village to village. They held meetings in which people confessed their sins and gave testimonies. They called for the burning of charms and for reconciliation. They taught that believers should walk in the light, which meant living in open fellowship with God and with one another. The revival brought together people across the lines of tribe and class. It was marked by a stress on humility and on the cross. Its members were known as the Balokole, the saved ones.
He was a man of quiet authority, who was respected by the missionaries and the Africans alike. He worked closely with Joe Church and William Nagenda, who was the most famous of the African revival leaders. He had a role in guiding the movement through its early difficulties. The revival met with opposition from some church leaders, who thought that it was too emotional and a threat to order. There were also disputes within the movement about practice and authority. He sought to keep the revival loyal to the church.