Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Rúhíyyih Khánum, Enoch Olinga: Hand of the Cause of God, Nairobi, Kenya: Bahá'i Publishing Agency, 2001, bahai-library.com.
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Enoch Oli11ga. Hand u/rhe Cause of God. 1957
ENOCH
OLINGA

HAND OF THE CAUSE
OF GOD

The memorial article by
Ruhiyyih Rabbani

With

The reminiscences of
Rowshan Mustapha

Baha'i Publishing Agency

P.O. Bo, 47562
Nairobi. Ken,áa
Tel: •254-2-725557 / 725-147
e~mail:bpakenyarU: 2lphane1.cn.ke
©2001
All rights reserved including reproduction of any
photographs herein not previously published under
copyright.

Ruhiyyih Rabbani
Enoch Olinga Hand of the Cause of God
1. Olinga, Enoch. 2. Baha'is - Biography
l. Mustapha, Rowshan
II. Title: Enoch Olinga Hand of the Cause of God

ISBN 9966-891-02-1

Printed in Kenya by:
Modem Lithographic (K) Ltd.
0 my Lord! 0 my Lord! This is a lamp lighted by the
fire of Thy love and ablaze with the flame which is
ignited in the tree of Thy mercy. 0 my Lord! Increase
his enkindlement, heat and flame, with the fire which is
kindled in the Sinai of Thy Manifestation. Verily, Thou
art the Confirmer, the Assister, the Powerful, the
Generous, the Loving.

'Abdu'l-Baha
Contents

Illustrations v1

Introduction xn

Part I: Enoch Olinga, Hand of the l
Cause of God, by Rul}fyyih Rabbanf

Part II: Enoch Olinga, 52
Reminiscences of moments
with him, by Rowshan Mustapha

Notes 104

Index 106
Illustrations

Frontispiece

Enoch Olinga, Hand of the Cause of God, 1957

Plate Between pages 23 and 24

1 First four native Baha'fs in Uganda, 1952

2 Enoch Olinga as a young Baha'f

3 Enoch and Eunice Olinga with their baby
Florence, the first child to be born after
they became Baha'fs
4 The first Local Spiritual Assembly of
Kampala, 1952

5 The first Baha'fs of the British Cameroons,
with pioneer Enoch Olinga, 1954

6 Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga
speaking at the Baha'f World Congress,
London, 1963

7 Hand of the Cause of God Olinga speaking
at the Baha' f World Congress, London,
1963, with view of fellow Hands and
audience

vi
8 Baha'i World Congress, London, 1963:
Group of African Baha'fs, including Hand
of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga, presenting a selection of songs with Baha'i themes

Between pages 51 and 52

9 'Akka, Israel, 1957, the historic gathering
of the Hands of the Cause of God at Bahji
shortly after the passing of the Guardian

1o 'Akka, Israel, 1961, Hands of the Cause of
God at Bahji, Tarazu'llah Samandari,
Amatu'l-Baha RuJ.1fyyihKhanum, Abu'l-
Qasim Faizi, Enoch Olinga

11 'Akka, Israel, 1957, Hands of the Cause of
God at Bahji, Hermann Grossmann,
William Sears, Enoch Olinga

12 Germany, 1972, Hands of the Cause of God
at the Plon Conference, Enoch Olinga,
Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, Dr. Adelbert
Muhlschlegel

13 Haifa, Israel, 1973, Hands of the Cause of
God Enoch Olinga and Dr. Ral).matu'llah
Muhajir at the Shrine of the Bab

14 Merida, Mexico, 3 February 1977, Hands
of the Cause of God Paul Haney and Enoch
Olinga inviting the Governor to the Merida
Conference

Vll
Plate

15 Kampala, Uganda, Riqvan 1969, Hand of
the Cause of God Enoch Olinga with the
National Spiritual Assembly of Uganda
and Central Africa

16 Zambia, 1967, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga with the National Spiritual
Assembly of Zambia
17 Freetown, Sierra Leone, 19-20 April 1975,
First National Convention of the Baha'is of
Sierra Leone, with Hand of Cause of God
Enoch Olinga

18 Singapore, 1-3 January 1971, Oceanic Conference, Hand of the Cause of God Enoch
Olinga with a blind Malaysian believer,
Luke Lee, who volunteered to pioneer

19 Singapore, 1-3 January 1971, Oceanic Conference, Hand of the Cause of God Enoch
Olinga greeting Mrs. George Lee

20 Tejeria, Department of Cochabamba,
Bolivia, June 1970, Hand of the Cause of
God Enoch Olinga with the Indian Baha'is
of the community of Tejerfa

21 Nashville, Tennessee, United States,
October 1970, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga with Baha'i friends

viii
Plate
22 Bangui, Central African Republic,
November 1974, Hand of Cause of God
Enoch Olinga at the Nineteen Day Feast

23 Solomon Islands, December 1970, Hand of
the Cause of God Enoch Olinga holding
baby

24 Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Japan, December 1970,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga
holding Japanese Baha'i child

25 Indonesia, 1971, Hand of the Cause of
God Enoch Olinga with Baha,'f children

26 Bogota, Colombia, July 1970, Hand of the
Cause of God Enoch Olinga with Baha'f
children

27 Turangawaewae, New Zealand, 18 October
1958, Hand of the Cause of God Enoch
Olinga addressing Maori gathering

28 Saskatchewan, Canada, 1970, Hand of the
Cause of God Enoch Olinga in native headdress with Indian Baha'fs taking part in
teaching project

29 Badjiran Village, The Gambia, June 1976,
local Baha' fs in front of new centre with
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga

ix
Plate

30 Hokkaido, Japan, December 1970, Baha'i
friends in the centre at Shiraoi with Hand
of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga

31 Fiji, 1971, Baha'i friends of Fiji with Hand
of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga
32 Singapore, January 1971, Hand of the Cause
of God Enoch Olinga with Baha'f friends
at the Oceanic Conference

33 Stavanger, Norway, 1972, Baha'i friends
with Hand of the Cause of God Enoch
Olinga and Mrs. Elizabeth Olinga

34 Bahia, Salvador, January 1977, Hand of the
Cause of God Enoch Olinga and his wife
Elizabeth at the Ba~fratu'I-Quds

35 Kampala, Uganda, September 1979, Olinga
family and friends, last photograph taken
of the Hand of the Cause before his murder
(two weeks later)

Between pages 72 and 73

36 'Akka, Israel, 1961, Hands of the Cause of
God, John Robarts, Tarazu'llah Samandarf,
Enoch Olinga

X
Plate

37 The Hands of the Cause of God for Africa,
William Sears, Musa Bananf, Enoch Olinga
and John Robarts

38 Tunis, Tunisia, Ri0van 1956, First National
Convention of the Baha'fs of Northwest
Africa, with Hand of Cause of God Musa
Bananf
39 Region of Northwest Africa as it was in
1956 under the jurisdiction of the Regional
Spiritual Assembly of Northwest Africa
40 Tunis, Tunisia, April 1956, the first
National Spiritual Assembly of Northwest
Africa

41 Tunis, Tunisia, circa January 1958, Hand
of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga holding
baby Olinga, first Baha' f child to be named
after him

42 Tunis, Tunisia, early 1960, Hand of the
Cause of God Enoch Olinga holding child,
Olinga Mustapha

XI
Introduction

"Of all the places in the world where the
Baha' f Faith exists and is spreading, the
Guardian is definitely most pleased with
Africa, and most proud of Uganda. He feels
that the spirit shown by white and negro
pioneers alike in that continent, presents a
challenge to the Baha' fs everywhere in the
world, and that old and staid communities
may well learn from, and emulate the
example of, the believers of Africa, many of
them scarcely a year old in the Cause of
God!" 1
At the centre of the great teaching success
referred to in this remarkable statement made
on Shoghi Effendi's behalf is the story (among
others) that Amatu'l-Baha Rt'.il)fyyih Khanum
tells us in the pages that follow. It is a story
about a great teacher of the Baha' f Faith-one
who was not only a Hand of the Cause of God, a
Knight of Baha'u'llah, and a "Chief Steward of
Baha'u'llah's embryonic World Commonwealth", but whom Shoghi Effendi named,
uniquely in this present cycle of human
existence, Abu'l-Futt'.il): "Father of Victories",
because of his selfless service and singular
achievements in the field of teaching. This was
Enoch Olinga. He was a young man whose life
was transformed when he heard of the Faith in
1952 in Uganda; and who went on to drink the
sweet elixir of pioneering, to kindle the faith of
unnumbered souls and, in the hearts of these
new believers, to "plant the seed of the tree of
the love for the Covenant. "2 We are further
privileged that this important and inspiring
article, which Amatu'l-Baha Ru}:lfyyihKhanum
had, at one time, expressed the desire to have
circulated among the African friends in their
languages, is now being disseminated in this
present accessible form, not only in Africa, but
throughout the world. A number of the African
believers will, no doubt, tend to its translation
into their native tongues, as will believers in
many lands.
Following this article are Rowshan Mustapha's memories of Mr. Olinga. These immortal
remembrances give us further details of Enoch
Olinga's life before being appointed Hand of the
Cause of God and reveal, in many ways, the
spiritual potentials Shoghi ~ffendi saw in him.
They include his work on the National Spiritual
Assembly of Northwest Africa and the early
teaching committee for West Africa. There are
also fascinating excerpts from letters he wrote
before and after becoming a Hand of the Cause.
These letters give us insights into his deep
knowledge and great faith, as well as a glimpse
of the stirring poetry of his language. There
are stories of his perseverance and his
marvellous sense of humour.
In this book, we come to know one of the
"divinely appointed, tried, and victorious souls",
a Hand of the Cause of God who with others of

Xlll
his station "brought the Cause safely to victory
in the name of Shoghi Effendi".3 We learn, as
well, about the spiritual life. The tests and trials
Enoch Olinga passed through so victoriously,
which both parts of the book indicate, his
detachment, and his success in making "the Faith
come first" are great lessons for all of us. So
too are his intrepid and swift advances along the
path of teaching, which, please God, will
encourage each of us to "invite people of every
sort and every gift to the banquet table of the
Lord of Hosts". 4
There is doubtless a wisdom in the production
of this book at a time the Universal House of
Justice has signaled is "one of the most critical
times in the life of the planet." 5 And about one,
whose conversion to the Faith came as a
precious raindrop just before that cloud-burst of
teaching, and whose subsequent services
impelled still further that first flood of new
believers, described by Amatu'l-Baha Rul).iyyih
Khanum as "the first blast on the trumpet of
'entry by troops' predicted and so much hoped
for by 'Abdu'l-Baha."6

Felicity Enayat
1999

XIV
PARTI

ENOCH OLINGA
24 June 1926-16 September 1979*

By Rul].fyyihRabbanf

Enoch Olinga came from a family of devout
Christian converts taught by the Church Missionary Society, now the Native Anglican Church
of Uganda. His people lived in the Teso northeastern part of the country and belonged to the
Atesot tribe, of the clan of Aatekok or Iraraka.
His father, Samusan Okadakina, of the village of
Tilling in Ngora County, volunteered in 1920 to
take Christianity to Soroti County where he became a catechist in the church, and where, in
1921, he married, according to church ritual,
Eseza Iyamitai, who gave birth on 24 June
1926, in the village of Abaango, to her second
son, Enoch. In 1927 Enoch's father returned to
his permanent home in Tilling-a name which

* As first published in The Baha'i World, vol. XVIII,
1979-1983, pp. 618-35.
will forever be associated not only with Africa's
only native Hand of the Cause, but with the first
substantial conversion of the African people to
the Faith of Baha'u'llah, an event which was a
source of immense joy and pride to the heart of
the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.
Enoch's stature must be seen against a unique
period in Baha'f history, for he accepted this
new Faith of God shortly after its introduction
into black Africa through a vast planned drive
to carry Baha'u'llah's message to its people.
During the last thirty years of Baha'u'llah' s
ministry a few of His followers living in Egypt
and the Sudan were the recipients of His praise
and encouragement; during 'Abdu'l-Baha's
ministry the Faith had reached Tunis, and for
the first time some of its occidental supporters,
greatly encouraged by the Master, were
spreading its message in southern Africa; it
remained, however, for the Guardian, Shoghi
Effendi, at the time of the British National
Spiritual Assembly's two-year interim plan in
1950-1952, to truly inaugurate the spiritual
conquest of Africa through the strong support
and guidance he gave to Persian, British and
American believers to pioneer there. This initial
step he followed up on a grand scale through the
provisions of his World Crusade, inaugurated in
1953-a Ten Year Plan which, among other
objectives, was to open to the Faith 131 virgin
territories in the five continents of the globe;
many of its objectives concerned the work in
Africa, whose pioneers were responsible for the
phenomenally rapid spread of the Teachings

amongst a race whom Baha'u'llah Himself had
compared to "the black pupil of the eye"
through which "the light of the spirit shineth
forth "-a statement fraught with profound
implications, for the sight of the eye is in the
pupil.
The current of Enoch Olinga' s destiny carried
him towards a fixed point; for the ten years after his father returned to Tilling in 1927, Enoch
received his schooling locally and at Ngora, a
small town not far from his home; later he went
to high school in Mbale; during World War II,
in 1941, he joined the British Army Education
Corps and went to Nairobi in Kenya, later serving in the East African King's Rifles Corps in
South East Asia, visiting Burma, East Pakistan,
Ceylon and India. By 1946 he had returned to
Uganda, a young man of twenty, and joined the
Government Department of Public Relations
and Welfare. For a time he was stationed in
Soroti and Mbale, producing two books in his
own language, Ateso, which were of assistance
to the Government Education Department in the
Teso district; later he moved to Kampala, the
capital of Uganda.
By the time Enoch came in contact with the
Faith in 1951 his personal life had assumed an
entirely new aspect; he was now married and
had his first children; he was a gifted translator
working for the government, but also a somewhat disillusioned man who had become a very
heavy drinker, a fact of which the government
service that employed him had become aware
and which led to his dismissal, in spite of his

marked capacity and relatively long record of
service. Unfortunately the reports on this serious impairment to the discharge of his duties
had already gone through when Enoch accepted
the Faith and upon his enrolment gave up all alcohol immediately.
Enoch was the third Ugandan to accept
Baha'u'llah, but the first of the Teso tribe; he
heard about the Faith from a friend who introduced him to 'Alf Nakbjavanf, the son-in-law of
Mr. and Mrs. Bananf who had left Persia to
pioneer, in response to the wishes of Shoghi
Effendi; had proceeded to Africa and settled in
Uganda with their daughter Violette, her husband 'Alf, and their daughter, aged three, arriving there in 1951; Mr. Bananf purchased a home
in the heart of Kampala, at 3 Kitante Road;
events were to take place there, of both joy and
grief, which are inextricably interwoven with
the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan in
that continent.
Once Enoch had met 'Alf a friendship began to
unfold and Enoch attended the regular evening
meetings held for enquirers in the Bananf home,
where the warmth of this Persian Baha'i household greatly attracted him. In February 1952
Mr. and Mrs. Bananf left on their pilgrimage to
the World Centre, and it was agreed that during
this time the pioneers in Kampala would hold a
special meeting for all the Africans who were
interested in the Faith and that this would coincide with the time in Haifa when the Guardian
usually visited the Shrines; Mr. Bananf would
inform him of this and ask for special prayers.

Shoghi Effendi was happy to comply with this
request, and he and Mr. Banani visited the
Shrines together at that hour. Enoch attended
that meeting in Kampala-but nothing happened! The three pioneers-the Nakhjavanis and
Philip Hainsworth-felt very discouraged. Later
that night, however, he returned, posed many
questions and ended up by asking "How does
one become a Baha'i?" Early the following
morning he appeared with a letter requesting to
be accepted as a believer; from the very
beginning Enoch had avidly read every Baha'i
book he could get, and this laid the foundation
for his deep knowledge of the Teachings. Mrs.
Olinga, making no secret of the fact that it was
the remarkable transformation in her husband's
conduct since he had become a Baha'i that influenced her decision, also embraced the Faith.
Gradually others swelled its numbers in Kampala so that by 21 April 1952, the first, historic
Local Spiritual Assembly of Uganda, of which
Enoch was a member, could be elected in that
city. Some months later Enoch returned to his
Teso home in Tilling to spread the glad tidings
of Baha'u'llah's teachings and aroused such interest that he returned to Kampala and persuaded 'Alf to visit Tilling, as the people there
wanted to see with their own eyes the white man
who had converted Enoch to this new doctrine.
'Alf, first with Enoch as interpretor, lat~r with
Enos Epyeru, one of the first Teso believers,
travelled and taught in the Teso district for several weeks, where regular enrolment now

began, one of the first being Enoch's own
father, who became a very staunch Baha'i.
In the beginning of January 1953-eight
months after the Local Assembly of Kampala
was formed-the Guardian cabled the Baha'i
world: SHARE BAHAI COMMUNITIES EAST
WEST THRILLING REPORTS FEATS ACHIEVED
HEROIC BAND PIONEERS LABOURING DIVERS
WIDELY SCATTERED AFRICAN TERRITORIES
PARTICULARLY UGANDA, and went on to liken
these feats to episodes related in the Book of
Acts in the Bible and to the rapid and dramatic
propagation of our own Faith by the Dawn-
Breakers of its Heroic Age. He stated that what
was happening in Africa eclipsed even the marvellous accomplishments in Latin America and
surpassed the exploits which immortalized the
European Crusade. Shoghi Effendi attached
great importance to the identity of people; the
believers were never an amorphous mass who
accepted Baha'u'llah; they were individuals, interesting, like the coloured pieces that make up
a beautiful mosaic picture. It was at this moment
that the spotlight went to Uganda and was held
there till the end of Shoghi Effendi's life. In that
same cable he went on to say: NUMBER
AFRICANS CONVERTED CAUSE LAST FIFTEEN
MONTHS RESIDING KAMPALA OUTLYING
DISTRICTS PROTEST ANT CATHOLIC PAGAN
BACKGROUNDS LETTERED UNLETTERED BOTH
SEXES REPRESENTATIVE NO LESS SIXTEEN
TRIBES PASSED TWO HUNDRED. This was the
II
first blast on the trumpet of entry by troops 11

predicted and so much hoped for by 'Abdu'l-
Baha. In that same cable the Guardian announced that no less than nine localities would

be qualified in Ri9van to form their Local
Assemblies; still more significant, however, was
his announcement that he would send to the first
of the four Intercontinental Conferences to be
held in 1953-which was the African one held
in Kampala- a copy of the portrait of the Bab,
the showing of which he was confident would
bring the new African believers CLOSER SPIRIT
MARTYR-PROPHET FAITH AND BESTOW
EVERLASTING BENEDICTION ALL GATHERED
MEMORABLE SESSIONS EPOCH-MAKING
CONFERENCE. It was Enoch, the new Baha'f,
who found himself on the Kampala Local
Assembly, caught up with veteran believers in
making plans for this unique and historic
gathering. When Enoch had been disheartened
over losing his job, Mr. Bananf in a flight of
prophecy, had rallied his spirit, assuring him he
would get an even better job-which he later
did. The Conference was to be held from
February 12th to 18th and the Guardian himself
had placed a sum of money in charge of Mr.
Bananf to be used exclusively to bring some of
the new Baha'is as his guests. As the "mass
conversion" was taking place in Teso, this meant
that about 200 people would be brought down
by bus from this northeastern province, which
was a trip of over 200 miles. 'Alf Nakbjavanf
went to escort the friends and invite them to be
Shoghi Effendi's guests. When the men got on
the buses many of the women wept and wailed
because they were afraid their men were being
taken off to be slaves!
In his greeting and message to this "epochmaking" Conference, which the Guardian hailed

with "joyous heart", he said "welcome with
open arms the unexpectedly large number of the
representatives of the pure-hearted and spiritually receptive Negro race" and pointed out
that their continent had retained its primitive
simplicity and "remained uncontaminated" by
what he characterized in scathing terms as the
evils of "a gross, a rampant and cancerous materialism undermining the fabric of human society alike in the East and in the West" and
"threatening to engulf in one common catastrophic convulsion the generality of mankind".
Weighty words containing a weightier warning.
In this message Shoghi Effendi outlines the vast
amount of work lying ahead for the six sponsoring National Assemblies, the indigenous believers themselves, and their pioneer helpers. No
less than thirty-three virgin territories are to be
opened to the Faith and three giant Nationalreally regional in nature-Assemblies are to be
formed, embracing the continent: Central and
East Africa with its seat in Kampala, South and
West Africa with its seat in Johannesburg, and
North-West Africa with its seat in Tunis.
Amongst other additional objectives, the Hand
of the Cause for Africa, Mr. B anani, is to
nominate during the following Ric;lvan,1954, an
Auxiliary Board of nine members to assist in
the tasks that lie ahead.
Every one of these points touches- on Enoch's
own life: it was his people, the Tesos, numbering many tens of thousands, who formed the
vast majority of Baha'is in Uganda before the
civil war; he responded to the appeal for pio-

neers to open the thirty-three territories and
himself become a Knight of Baha'u'llah; he was
elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly
of North-West Africa; he was appointed a Hand
of the Cause in the last contingent of eight elevated to that rank by Shoghi Effendi just before
he passed away. Enoch thus became the colleague of Musa Banani, in whose home h.e had
accepted the Faith. There can be no doubt, as we
look back on his life as a Baha'i, that the experience of Enoch, when he saw the portrait of the
Martyr-Prophet of his Faith, did indeed bestow
an "everlasting benediction" upon him.
Enoch was now established in his new job and
his reformed way of life-but a strong wind
was blowing, the wind of God calling the souls
of the receptive Baha' is to arise and hear the
call of their Lord and carry His Message to far
places. As Enoch's father had once arisen to
carry the Christian Faith to another territory, so
now Enoch and two other new Ugandan believers arose to leave family, home, job and country
to carry the glad tidings of Baha'u'llah across
the continent to West Africa, to some of those
waiting, unopened countries. Mr. Banani, the
Spiritual Conqueror of Africa, as Shoghi
Effendi called him, had recently bought a small
Peugeot station-wagon which he placed at their
disposal. Originally the trip had been planned to
take Violette to visit a Baha'i family in the
Congo, but now its character entirely changed
when the ever-faithful and ever-enthusiastic 'Alf
volunteered to drive the three would-be pioneers across the continent in his capacity of

spiritual pilot and physical chauffeur. The five
set off, on 27 August 1953, with not too much
money and almost no information about the
route that lay ahead, on probably the most
abominable roads in the world, in a passenger
car certainly not equipped to cope with them.
Their consolation then, and throughout the entire journey, was a cable received from their
beloved Guardian on the eve of their departure:
LOVING, FERVENT PRAYERS ACCOMPANYING
YOU.
About a week later Samson Mungono was
dropped off in Kamina, in what was then the
Belgian Congo (now Za'ire), which already had
two non-African believers living in different
parts of the country; by 26 September Max
Kenyerezi, the Knight of Baha'u'llah for French
Equatorial Africa (now Congo Republic), had
been established in Brazzaville. The longest and
hardest part of the journey, however, still lay
ahead through the deep tropical jungles of
Gabon; passing through a disease-decimated
area, plagued by insects, constantly getting stuck
in the mud, 'Alf or Enoch had to walk many
miles to get help from villagers to lift their car
out of the bog; so difficult was the road that in
one day, during sixteen hours, they progressed
only 100 kilometres. On the next day they made
only 25 kilometres in fourteen hours; finally the
car really broke down; Enoch volunteered to
walk ahead 50 miles, with a villager as a guide,
to get help from a town that reputedly had a
garage; separating from Enoch distressed the
N akhjavanis even more than their own plight;
'AH-no mechanic-at last succeeded in repair-

ing the car's clutch sufficiently to limp along on
Enoch's trail, constantly breaking down, but
eventually managing to overtake him the
following day after Enoch had walked 35 miles;
he was exhausted from bad dysentery; in pain
and very worried over them; on reaching the
town 'Ali, who had been badly bitten by tsetse
flies-the dread carrier of sleeping sicknessand Violette, who had also been bitten by them,
went to the hospital for tests and treatment, but
Enoch was so ill he was hospitalized for two
days and could not travel for a week. When they
had overtaken Enoch he told them that the night
before, when he was alone with only strange
Africans around him with whom he could not
talk, afraid for his safety and the money he was
carrying, full of misgivings and doubt, asking
himself why he had left home and family on
such a mad undertaking, he dreamed of Shoghi
Effendi, who took him in his arms and held him
close, and into him had poured comfort and reassurance; this dream restored his strength and
affected him so profoundly he cried out in his
heart to the Guardian that he was willing to go
through such hardships for him every day of his
life!
Finally, on 10 October, the little party crossed
into French Cameroons, but Enoch's objective
was British Cameroons, a goal which he was to
fill on behalf of the British National Spiritual
Assembly. The main bridge between the two
countries was down; by a long and agonizing
detour the party at last drove into Mamferushing for the post office there to cable the

Guardian that British Cameroons was now
opened by Enoch's arrival. It was 4 p.m. and
the postmaster was closing up, but 'Ali begged
him to re-open so that this important cable
could get off before the Holy Year ended on
that very night of 15 October. On the 16th they
arrived in Victoria, on the coast, where Enoch
was to live for the coming ten years before returning permanently to his homeland in East
Africa.
The Africa of those days was still under colonial administration; reluctantly the Nakbjavanis
and Enoch agreed that their association might
place in jeopardy the object of so much effort
and sacrifice because Victoria was only a small
town and two white orientals and a black U gandan were far too conspicuous a combination.
The first problem was where to find lodging for
Enoch; tribalism, even today, makes one group
very suspicious of any other; no one wanted to
take in a man from another people 3,000 kilometres away, the other side of Africa. Finally,
through the familiar odd series of circumstances
\\hich seem so often to open doors for Baha'i
pioneers, a young man working in the local library got into conversation with Violette, found
she was worrying over how to find accommodation for a "young Ugandan we know", and
asked to meet Enoch. The upshot was Enoch became a lodger in the home of David Tanyi, who
not only accepted the Faith through him,
becoming the first believer in the entire
Cameroons, but later became the Knight of
Baha'u'llah for French Togoland. The Nakh-

javanis removed to nearby Douala, in the
French Cameroons, where they could still be
close to Enoch without arousing the suspicions
of the local authorities in Victoria because they
wanted to be sure he would get his residence
visa and was safely settled in his pioneering post
before they returned to Uganda. Enoch himself
discreetly but eagerly began to teach new
friends.
The period of the Guardian's World Crusade
was indeed a time of flame. A holy enthusiasm
to teach the Cause of God to humanity spread
far and wide. Shoghi Effendi, greatly encouraged by the remarkable trek across Africa
which had already led to the opening of two
new countries, now encouraged Enoch to do the
seemingly impossible and raise up, from among
his new converts, pioneers to go forth and open
other virgin territories. When one realizes that
Enoch himself was a new Baha'i and a recent
pioneer, his success was almost miraculous. In a
letter addressed to Leroy Ioas dated 15 April
1954-exactly six months after his arrival in the
British Cameroons-Enoch wrote: "Praised be
to God that our Beloved Guardian's admonition
to assign and get pioneers settled in the five
virgin territories has through Beloved' s
Boundless Grace been fulfilled. We prayerfully
raise up our suppliant hands and voices of praise
to Baha'u'llah for His guidance and confirmations, and I believe very firmly that He will assuredly assist and guide these new and young
soldiers in His triumphant Army, and render
them victorious for, according to my little un-

derstanding and belief, they have in them such a
rare spirit of love and devotion to His Best
Beloved Cause."
At first, he wrote, it looked almost impossible
to get any of the new believers to leave their
homes and move to-foreign lands: "...but I knew
very well that the Beloved Guardian, who is
actually watching the world and all the believers, could not have asked for the impossible. As
soon as the news reached their attentive and
sensitive ears the believers reacted in such a
manner that a spectator could take them for
drunkards ...they really became intoxicated with
the choice wine of His loveá and of submissiveness and obedience to the call of their Best
Beloved. Pioneering offers poured in like locusts and clear signs of obedience to move the
next minute were made manifest, forgetting
their property and loving relatives and families." Indeed, so many offers to pioneer were
made that in the end they had to draw lots to see
which five would be chosen to go.
'AH flew back to Victoria to help make the
arrangements for visas and transportation-in
those days a much more complicated matter
than today in independent Africa. "When 'AH
arrived," Enoch wrote, "not a single moment
was wasted. Off they flew like very mighty eagles in the heavenly sky. Such are the soldiers of
Baha'u'llah. 0 ! How I wish I accompanied
them! May Baha'u'llah sustain them and guide
their footsteps along the glorious path of spiritual understanding and selfless sacrifice so that
they may grow into trees whose fruits will be

the food for the hungry ones. My constant
prayer is that they may find means of settlement. I know the Beloved Guardian's fervent
prayers are with them."
Enoch also reports that the letter of Shoghi
Effendi to David Tanyi, received on the eve of
his departure to pioneer, was indeed a
remarkable coincidence and that David had said
he was going to frame it. At the airport, while
relatives dissolved in tears, the pioneers
cheerfully marched to the plane, a contrast
which to Enoch crowned "the pioneering of
these gallant and stalwart soldiers of the Ancient
Beauty".
In answer to his letter Enoch was assured that
the Guardian "was deeply moved by the reports
which you sent and the manner in which the
friends received his call to pioneer in the virgin
areas. He feels this is truly historic, because it
means that people who have been Baha'fs for
only a short period, have arisen to carry the
Glad Tidings to peoples of new lands. The manner in which the Faith has spread in Africa is
truly remarkable, and overshadows the manner
it has spread in other parts of the world. It indicates how glorious will be the future of the
Faith in that great continent."
The names of these precious and distinguished
spiritual children of Enoch, who received each
the title, like himself, of Knight of Baha'u'llah,
are as follows: David Tanyi, French Togoland;
Edward Tabe, British Togoland; Samuel Njiki,
French Cameroons; Benedict Eballa, Ashanti

Protectorate; Martin Manga, Northern Territories Protectorate.
Two months later, on 14 June 1954, Enoch
wrote his first letter to Shoghi Effendi; as far as
records go it seems this was his only one, hence
I will quote it in full as it well reflects his love,
his respect, his obedience to the Head of his
Faith and the one who had become the focal
point of his life:

My Well-Beloved Guardian,
I must first thank my Well-Beloved Guardian
for continually praying for my spiritual welfare as well as of those who are now serving
the Ancient Beauty, and for the Beloved
Guardian's guidance, without which the present spiritual achievements of our beloved
Faith would not have been possible.
Furthermore, I very humbly beg to assure
my dearly loved Guardian of my unreserved
loving devotion to the Cause of Baha'u'llah,
and my submissiveness to every one of the
Guardian's admonitions in the way of promoting the fundamental interests of our Faith,
which is now overshadowing the entire world.
May I also be permitted to express the joy and
delight which the letters received by the individual Baha'fs from the Beloved Guardian
have brought to the hearts of all the believers
of this nascent community. These letters, like
the fervent prayers of the Beloved Guardian,
do wonders here. Our daily prayer and hope is
that God, the All-Compelling, the All-Protecting may prolong the days of our Beloved

Guardian's unbroken service to His Cause and
mankind.
As my Beloved Guardian may be aware, an
Assembly was elected here last Ri9van, and
through Beloved's Grace the coming Riqvan
may bring a number of local Assemblies. I
have just returned from a two weeks' teaching
trip which took me right inside the country
where. I had quite thrilling and exciting
experiences; especially when I had to live
among the villagers who believe in witchcraft
and potency of "Juju" (fetish, I think) practices. Quite terrifying it was to hear very
frightful stories told by "Juju" adherents, but
with much confidence in Baha'u'llah I was
never deterred. Fortunately enough a few of
them were enabled to see the Truth of the
Message of Baha'u'llah-rnay my life, soul and
spirit be a sacrifice unto the lowliest of His
servants!
It may please my Beloved Guardian to know
that ten new centres have been opened to the
Faith, making a total of twelve centres in
British Cameroons. We want to develop all the
eleven towards Assembly status before the next
Riqvan. We really need our Well-Beloved
Guardian's special prayers for success in this
somewhat ambitious project.
We receive very encouraging letters from all
our five pioneers who have gone to open virgin territories. They all seem very happy there
and are waiting for the doors of success to be
opened for them. We all hope and pray that in
time they will find jobs they can do. This is

not only because they will thereby be able to
support themselves, but also because they will
feel so much more happy arid settled when
they have jobs of work to do. They will take
root and feel they belong. We always encourage them to remain there as much as we can
when we write to them.
My Well-Beloved Guardian may be interested to know that the number of believers is
increasing very rapidly in British Cameroons.
The present situation is: accepted believers, up
to 30; declarations, up to 40; centres now
opened to the Faith, 12.
Please, my Beloved Guardian, I know how
much busy you are, therefore I shall not dwell
on inconsequentialities.
I very reverently beg to send my loving
greetings and best wishes to my Beloved
Guardian and all members of family.
With warmest Baha'f Love from Victoria
believers,
I beg to remain,
my Beloved Guardian,
Your devoted servant,
Enoch Olinga
It was not the custom of the Guardian to keep
copies qf his wide correspondence; we do know,
however, that this letter was answered by him
on 9 August but, unfortunately, the original has
not been found.
In those days the Baha'fs throughout Africa
were few and far between but part of the great
Ten Year Plan of Shoghi Effendi was to create
not only Local Spiritual Assemblies but bodies

to fulfil the functions of National Spiritual
Assemblies; he solved the problem of too few
believers in any one country to justify an
independent National Assembly by constituting,
in 1956, a number of giant administrative units
so that Baha'fs could learn to think and function
in an administrative manner. The biggest group
-united under the umbrella of the National
Spiritual Assembly of North-West Africa, with
its secretarial seat in Tunis, Tunisia-comprised
no less than 25 territories, namely, Algeria,
Ashanti Protectorate, British Cameroons,
British Togoland, Canary Islands, Cape Verde
Islands, French Cameroons, French Morocco,
French Togoland, French West Africa, the
Gambia, Gold Coast, Liberia, Madeira,
Morocco (International Zone), Nigeria,
Northern Territories Protectorate, Portuguese
Guinea, Rio de Oro, St. Thomas Island, Sierra
Leone, Spanish Guinea, Spanish Morocco,
Spanish Sahara and Tunisia. In spite of this
impressive list there were only about 1,000
Baha'fs in this vast area and the National Body
rested on 38 Local Assemblies; thanks to Shoghi
Effendi, however, Tunis had its own National
Baha'f Headquarters, and Bomi Hills, in Liberia,
was the proud possessor of the only endowment;
Enoch Olinga was elected chairman of this new
Body.* It seems unbelievable that in the brief

*Enoch Olinga was elected member of this Body. The
chairman of the Regional Spiritual Assembly was Miss
Elsie Austin.

space of three years, of the thirty-three virgin
territories throughout Africa to be opened to
the Faith, twenty-nine had already received
p10neers.
In the heart of Enoch burned the great desire
to make the pilgrimage to the World Centre and
meet his beloved Guardian in person. Permission was finally asked and granted by Shoghi
Effendi who, as was his custom, set a date by
week, in other words Enoch was informed he
would be welcome as a pilgrim in the first week
of February 1957. Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hand of
the Cause and member-at-large of the International Baha'f Council at Haifa, was residing in
Rome; he has given us this endearing image of
Enoch: he arrived from Tunis the morning of 1
February 1957, "he was young, lean, lovable at
first sight and believing that this Hand of the
Cause could perform miracles. He had an old
English passport that had expired some years
before, and practically not a penny (of any currency) in his pocket. I took him to the
British ...Consulate. The wax-moustached Consul, for a solid twenty minutes, denied the possibility to renew the passport. I had told Enoch
not to say anything but recite the Remover of
Difficulties ... When I said that Mr. Olinga had
been called by the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith,
to Haifa, the Consul opened a drawer of his
desk, took a voluminous dossier with blue
pages, leafed them with great attention and then
said: 'I think I can do it.' With the valid passport in hand we rushed to the Israeli Embassy
for the visa, which was granted immediately.

Then I thought that Enoch could be hungry and
asked him if he was. 'Yes', he said; he had not
eaten from the night before ...Dear, dear Enoch,
he had stolen our hearts!"
Enoch, in his wide travels all over the world,
often had recourse to the "Remover of Difficulties". I remember once his telling me that at the
end of a long trip, as he went to embark for
Uganda, the air company employee who was
weighing him in said he was overweight and
must pay so and so much excess baggage; Enoch
said he was on his way home after a long trip
and just did not have the money; she said he
must either pay or leave his luggage behind.
Whereupon, standing there in the airline queue,
he drew out his prayer book and began to read a
prayer to himself. The girl said, "What are you
doing!" Enoch said: "I am praying, what else
can I do?" She was so non-plussed by this she
waved him and his baggage on with no extra
payment.
On 3 February Enoch arrived in Haifa and left
on the 13th; he stayed in the Oriental Pilgrim
House near the Shrines on Mount Carmel, which
meant Shoghi Effendi was going to treat him as
an oriental pilgrim; the men who stayed there
had the privilege of not only taking walks in the
gardens with the Guardian but the great blessing
of always visiting the Shrines with him and
hearing him chant the Tablets of Visitation in
his wonderfully melodious voice; to add to this
privilege Enoch was most of the time alone;
naturally Shoghi Effendi spoke to him in English. Sometimes Enoch would recall his first

impressions, how anxiously he waited to be
called to the presence of his Guardian, how he
could not imagine what Shoghi Effendi would
be like or how he would look but then discovered with what majesty he spoke and that when
he saw him walking "he walked like a king" and
one knew it was his to command, that he held
the authority. Enoch told his children Shoghi
Effendi was like a lion, but at the same time
very gentle; he reported an experience common
to a great many pilgrims, that he found before
he had a chance to ask his questions, Shoghi
Effendi had answered them. Unlike most
pilgrims, however, when the Guardian said
goodbye to him he kissed him on both cheeks.
Few pilgrims, indeed, left the Holy Land without their visits to the Shrines and their meetings
with the Guardian beginning to work a change
in them; Enoch was no exception; the love
showered upon him by Shoghi Effendi, the illuminating quality of his conversation, profoundly affected Enoch's whole life; whereas
before he was a needle jumping about in the direction of north, he now became like an adjusted compass oriented firmly to the Centre of
his Faith, his Guardian, his true king. He went
back to West Africa enkindled, reassured, more
mature. Excerpts from two of Enoch's letters to
me, written in 1956 and 1957, vividly reflect
the depths of his attachment to Shoghi Effendi:
"Please, will you remember me to the beloved
Guardian and tell him how much we all love
him"; "Having visited and prayed in the Blessed
Shrines, gazed on the holy face of our Guardian

and heard his melodious voice, I am sure a new
day has dawned upon me!"
A letter written on 15 February 1957, on behalf of the Guardian to Musa Bananf, expressed
"his pleasure with the visit ori his pilgrimage of
the first African Baha' f of the Ten Year Crusade-in fact, the first Negro Baha'f from
Africa. Enoch Olinga has achieved many victories for the Faith; first in his work in Uganda;
then by pioneering in the British Cameroons,
becoming a Knight of Baha'u'Ilah there. Five of
his spiritual children went from the Cameroons,
to virgin areas of the Ten Year Crusade, thus
becoming themselves, Knights of Baba' u' llah.
He himself has confirmed 300 souls, with five
Assemblies. The Guardian considers this unique
in the history of the Crusade, in both the East
and West; and he has blessed the one who so
selflessly served, and won these victories for the
Cause of God, by naming him 'Abu'l-Futub',
the 'Father of Victories'. The Guardian felt you
and Ali would be pleased to know this, as he
was Ali's spiritual child."
For various reasons, economic and otherwise,
Enoch's wife and children had remained in East
Africa; now, however, with his election to the
North-West African National Spiritual Assembly and his ever-increasing teaching activities, it
seemed he was permanently settled in West
Africa, and shortly after his return from pilgrimage he went back to Uganda to fetch them.
It was on 2 October 1957, at the time of this
visit, that Mr. Bananf received a cable from
Shoghi Effendi requesting him to inform Enoch

Firstfimr native Balui 'is,~[ Uganda, 1952.
From left to right, C/1ri,\pia11Kajubi (Muganda by tribe),
Enoch O/inga (Etesot by tribe),
Fred Bigabwa (Mutooro by tribe), Peter ll1usol<e(Muganda by tribe)

Enoch Olinga as a young Baha'i
Enoch and Eunice Olinga with their baby Florence,
the first child to be born after they bernme Bah a'is
The.first Local Spiritual Assemb(r of the Baha'is of Kampala,
1952. From left to right, standing, Philip Hain.rn•orth, Cliri.,pian Kaiubi,
Enoch Olinga, Ali i\/akhjavani, Fredrick Bigabwa, Peter Musoke;
seated, Mrs. Samihih Bammi, Hand of the Cause <JfGod Musa Ba11a11i,
Mrs. Violette Nakhiava11i

The.first Balui'is of the British Cameroons with pioneer Enoch Olinga,
1954, taken on Naw-Ruz
Hand <~{theCause of God Enoch Olinga speaking at the
Baha'i World Congress, Lo11do11,1963

Hand of the Cause of God Olinga speaking at the
Baha'i World Congress, London, 1963,
with view offellow Hands and audience
Baha'i World Congress, London, 1963:
Group of African Baha'is, including Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch O/inga, presenting a selection of songs with Baha'i themes
composed by the Baha'is of Africa
Olinga, as well as two pioneers serving in
Africa-John Robarts and William Sears-of
their ELEVATION RANK HAND CAUSE, adding
FEEL CONFIDENT HIGH DISTINCTION WILL
ENABLE THEM ENRICH RECORD THEIR
MERITORIOUS SERVICES. Enoch was summoned
to that same home where he had accepted the
Faith and the Guardian's cable placed in his
hands; he read it and then prostrated himself flat
on the floor, a mark in Africa of deep submission to one's Liege.
It must be remembered that for Enoch and the
seven other Hands of the Cause appointed by
Shoghi Effendi at the same time, his death, one
month later, coming as it did so swiftly upon the
already stunning news of being raised to the
rank of a Hand, was a tremendous shock; before
they could do more than acknowledge this new
station conferred upon them, their guide and
"true brother" was gone! Enoch cabled Shoghi
Effendi on 4 October, BELOVED'S HOLY
MESSAGE JUST RECEIVED BENUMBED MY
FACULTIES. WITH MUCH SUBMISSIVENESS
AND HUMBLENESS I ACCEPT DIVINE FAVOUR
FEEL DEEPLY GRATEFUL BELOVED'S SACRED
WISHES FOR OUR PROGRESS BESEECH HIS
PRAYERS FOR CONFIRMATION GUIDANCE AND
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT. DEVOTEDLY ENOCH
OLINGA.
Returning to live in Victoria with his family,
Enoch's teaching activities throughout West
Africa continued on an ever-wider scale; all the
British territories in that region were controlled
and administered from Nigeria and many new
converts were brought into the Faith by him in
that country, which he frequently visited, as

well as in the Cameroons. His oldest son,
George, recalls that during those West African
years his father was often absent on very long
teaching trips outside the country; Enoch himself mentions Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and
the Gambia "to mention", he says "but a few",
where he was "instrumental in guiding many
souls to the Cause of God." The vivid stories he
told his family when he returned stimulated the
children's interest in the Faith; sometimes, if he
was only on a week-end trip in the Cameroons,
he took George with him. Not only was his
service to the Faith a special thing for Enoch
but in his home there was always a special place
for his treasured photographs of 'Abdu'l-Baha
and Shoghi Effendi and places with sacred associations. All this implanted in the hearts of his
children a similar love and respect; all of them
grew to be staunch Baha'fs.
Although the formalities required to attend the
beloved Guardian's funeral in London
prevented Enoch from being present, he was
able to join his fellow Hands at their first
Conclave held immediately after Shoghi
Effendi's passing in Bahjf, on 18 November
1957, and to be present at all the others. In spite
of the fact that Enoch had the gift of words and
was a brilliant public speaker, he was
remarkably silent, I remember, during our
meetings, following carefully the long hours
and days of discussion in two languages, English
and Persian, keeping his own counsel deep in his
heart, making up his own mind. When one
remembers he was a new Baha'i of only four

years' experience, that he was a young man only
thirty-one years old-our baby Hand-one must
realize that these were years of great stress for
him; they were terrible years of stress for his
much older peers, many of whom were born
Baha'fs!
One of Enoch's most endearing qualities was
his laugh, a great, joyous, consuming and contagious laugh. His fellow Hands were not slow
to appreciate this and went so far as to save up
funny stories the whole year so they could tell
them to Enoch at the next Conclave; God knows
our hearts and minds were weighted down
enough with our responsibilities and problems
so the laughter at our dining table was a welcome relief for often sad and exhausted minds,
but sometimes they made Enoch laugh so much
that I scolded them, saying they would make
him ill; of course others laughed too-but not
like Enoch, who would begin by chuckling and
end up convulsed.
Ever since his pilgrimage Enoch and I had
become very close; some of the Hands slept in
Bahjf while others returned for the night to
Haifa; Enoch and I were among those who always remained in Bahjf during the entire Conclave; I remember once, when we had a regular
plague of snails devouring the gardens, I insisted that the Hands come out and pick snails,
giving them buckets and bowls to put them in:
in the bright moonlight about eight of us started
down the borders in front of the Shrine; eventually when I turned around I found everyone

had sneaked off, only faithful Enoch and I were
still gathering snails!
Those years from 1957 until 1963-when
Enoch returned to live in East Africa-were in
many ways very difficult for him; his relations
with Eunice, his first wife, were going from
bad to worse; finally, after about three years,
she returned to East Africa, but the children
remained with him; a divorce was obtained in
1961 and in 1963 Enoch went to Nairobi with
his second wife, Elizabeth, by whom he had two
children, Lennie and Tahirih.
Whileá still resident in West Africa Enoch returned to Kampala to attend the historic occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the
Mother Temple of Africa on 14 January 1958;
he took part in the African Teaching Conference held concurrently with that event, he and I
sharing the platform of the public meeting; a
week later the impressive Baha'i African Intercontinental Conference, called by the Guardian,
was held in Kampala-one of five similar conferences marking the midway point of his
World Crusade; Enoch was chairman of one of
its sessions and speaker at another, his theme:
"The Vital Process of Individual Conversion."
All these events and pressures on Enoch's life
were-as should be the case for each of usshaping his character, helping him to grow
spiritually into his own potentialities, maturing
him into a truly great man, but not without suffering, anxiety and descending into the valleys
as well as scaling the mountains. In a letter to
me on 13 October 1963 Enoch wrote from

Nigeria: "I am now on my way to Nairobi
where I intend to make my home", and where
he says he will have "to overcome many difficulties which are bound to come my way"; he
asks for prayers for his "weak, frail and helpless self. ..the pain I experience these days is
big ...pray for me that I may rise above the present mental and soul-destroying condition in
which I sadly find myself..." He always supplicated the beloved Blessed Perfection, "I know
He will help me to disintegrate the wall which
surrounds my entire being and which I am
struggling to break." Dark years of upheaval
for Enoch.
He finally returned to live in his native village
of Tilling in Teso, Uganda, and build a house
there for his family. Gradually, through the
loving guidance of the Universal House of
Justice, he once again began to travel widely for
the Faith. Like other Hands of the Cause, he
often represented the House of Justice at
International Conferences and inaugural Conventions of new National Spiritual Assemblies
all over the world. His travels to these, as well
as many long tours undertaken in all the
continents of the globe, were a source of
happiness to both Enoch and the thousands of
believers who met him; he grew steadily into his
maturity. He was a very intelligent man, a very
eloquent, self-possessed speaker; he was both
dignified and urbane in his handling of officials
and the media. Enoch had presence; it is hard to
describe because there was something very
African about it, the "presence" of a big chief,

who is both a father-figure and rules. He was
sincerely kind, loving and interested in other
people and they felt this-high and low alikeand responded. That big, spontaneous laugh was
also there, to carry others on with it in a great
relaxing wave of sheer mirth.
The Hands of the Faith chose Enoch to be
chairman of the opening session of the beloved
Guardian's Baha'i World Congress, held from
28 April to 2 May 1963, commemorating the
end of his great Ten Year Plan, his World Crusade. About 7,000 Baha'is were present, from
most of the territories and major islands of the
world, gathered in the beautiful Albert Hall of
London. The big, black Enoch was a befitting
figure to stand before such a motley crowd on
such an historic occasion!
Enoch met many heads of state as he visited
different countries; one of the most interesting
interviews he ever had was with the Dalai Lama
in October 1968, in his retreat at Dharamsala in
India; the party were first thoroughly searched
by the Lama's security people, and after some
delays, received by His Holiness, the spiritual
leader of the Tibetan people and to them the
reincarnation of Buddha. He was surprised and
interested to see these guests who included a
black African, his wife and daughter, an Englishman and two Indians. Although he spoke
through a translator, it was evident that he understood English; he commented that they were
all different people, to which Enoch replied,
"Yes, but we are all of the same family", and
went on to elaborate this theme and also to give

an account of Baha'u'llah's exiles, imprisonment
and sufferings, which struck a deep chord of
sympathy in his host. Their visit lasted over an
hour-which was unusual-and His Holiness
showed them excessive courtesy; there was no
doubt of the impression Enoch had made on him
as he set forth many of Baha'u'llah's teachings.
The common sense and wisdom of Enoch are
nowhere better exemplified than in the conversations his Persian daughter-in-law Forough
Ehsani, a pioneer to Uganda, has recorded having with her much-loved father-in-law in connection with her marriage to his son George. In
Tilling Enoch had a special office of his own,
his "prayer room", in which were his pictures
of the Master and the Guardian and things that
were dear to him; there he often spoke with her.
It was in this room one day that he asked her if
she was sure she wanted to marry George: '"Do
you like to marry him ... marriage is not easy.
You have to be careful. Have you thought of the
future and how the difficulties will be? You are
different, from different homes and country, do
you in your heart accept that? Do you really
like that?' Many times he asked and I said, 'Yes,
I do.' So he hugged and kissed me and said,
'The rest is with Baha'u'llah, He will solve the
problems."' A day came when a crisis arose;
after her child was born, during the first year
of her marriage, a serious misunderstanding
between her and a member of the family took
place; she was so distressed she took up the child
and left the house. "Enoch", she said, "sent one
of his sons after me with this message: 'Tell

Forough to come and leave the child in this
house, and whenever she wants to go, she can
go."' When she confronted Enoch she said: "But
this child is mine!" Enoch replied, "No, this
child belongs to this family; if you have a misunderstanding you solve it with the members of
the family. You cannot mix up the child with
your problem and somebody else's problem.
Leave the child and then we can solve it all together. Don't mix up the child with this problem." She remembers that: "When he said that I
felt my knees shaking! I put the child down and
said, 'But how can I go without my first child?',
and then he told me, 'When your anger has
dropped, you come to my office. I want to see
you, not with George, you only."' George remained quiet throughout, praying inwardly that
all would resolve itself. She went to Enoch's
office, in what must have been a terrible upheaval for all of them; he reminded her how,
before her marriage, he had warned her there
would be problems; earnestly, looking into her
eyes he said: "Forough my dear, your behaving
as you did, taking the child out and not solving
the problem, does not help you, does not help
me, and especially does not help the Faith. You
know that whatever you are doing from today
should help the Faith, the name of the Faith.
And you know the slightest problem between
you and George, how it can damage the Faith.
Will you please think this way and forget the
rest!" Forough recalls: "He completely changed
me. He said a prayer, he hugged me, and he
cried. He cried and I felt the wetness of his

crying, and he said, 'Please, please help the
Faith!"' She rejoined the family, was completely
reconciled, and from then on harmony
prevailed. Enoch had impressed on her the
greatest lesson of all-the Faith comes first.
There followed many years of active service;
Enoch, often accompanied by his wife Elizabeth
-herself a devoted and active believertravelled widely, visiting and stimulating the
Baha'fs, meeting high officials, bringing the
Faith before the public and the media. His children grew up, two daughters married Baha'i
pioneers, George and Forough had two more
children. Although the Olinga home was in
Teso, after the death of Mr. Bananf, Enoch purchased the historic house in which the Bananf-
N akhjavanf family had lived for so many years
in Kampala, the home in which he himself had
accepted the Faith and learned of his elevation
to the rank of Hand of the Cause.
To enumerate in detail his services and travels
from 1958 until his death in 1979 is impossible;
long and authoritative biographies are required
to recount the exploits of Hands of the Cause
appointed by Shoghi Effendi; only a glance at
Enoch's major activities during those years is
included here. He attended three of the 1958
mid-way point of the World Crusade continental
conferences called for by Shoghi Effendi,
namely, that of Africa, held in Kampala;
Europe, held in Frankfurt; and Asia, held in
Singapore. After the latter he made a tour of
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and
Pakistan, it being the policy of the Hands to

make as wide and economic use as possible of
the visit of a fellow Hand to attend conferences
or conventions by visiting, going and coming, as
many centres as possible throughout the area. In
1960 Enoch visited many places in West and
North Africa, Sicily and Italy;á in 1961, after
representing the Hands of the Cause at the
inaugural Baha'i Conventions in Jamaica,
Dominican Republic and Cuba, he toured the
Greater Antilles and Central America for four
months; in 1962 he travelled extensively in East
Africa, the Sudan, Ethiopia and the Congo (now
Zaire); in 1964 he represented the Universal
House of Justice at the inaugural Conventions of
the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Indian
Ocean, in Mauritius, and South Central Africa,
in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); in 1967 he represented the Universal House of Justice at the inaugural Convention of the National Spiritual
Assembly of Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique; in 1968 Enoch attended the large
Mediterranean Baha'i Conference held in
Palermo, Sicily, and-like most of his fellow
Hands-was present at the glorious celebration
in Bahji of the one hundredth anniversary of
Baha'u'llah's arrival in 'Akka as a prisoner; also
in 1968 when Enoch was received by the Dalai
Lama at his headquarters in India he visited
many Baha'i centres in that vast sub-continent;
in 1969 Enoch represented the Universal House
of Justice at the election of the first National
Spiritual Assembly of Burundi and Rwanda; in
1970 he represented the Universal House of
Justice at the formation of the first National

Spiritual Assembly of Upper West Africa,
making later that same year an extensive tour of
South America, Central America and the Antilles, passing through the United States and
visiting many centres there; he then proceeded
to the Pacific where he visited the Solomon Islands and Japan, attending in January 1971, as
representative of the Universal House of Justice,
the South China Seas Oceanic Conference in
Singapore, and later that same year fulfilling the
same function at the inaugural Convention of
the National Spiritual Assembly of Chad; in
1971 Enoch represented the Universal House of
Justice at the first Convention of the National
Spiritual Assembly of Iceland and afterwards
exhaustively toured the Baha'f communities in
Scandinavia, Britain and Italy, visiting Persia
with Elizabeth in July to pay his homage to the
House of the Bab in Shfraz and other Baha'f
historic sites. Enoch was becoming increasingly
preoccupied with Africa as the problems of that
continent steadily augmented: in 1973-1974 he
went on a five-month teaching trip to twelve
countries of West Africa; 1975 saw him back in
the area to attend, as the representative of the
Universal House of Justice, three inaugural
Conventions during the Ridvan period-not an
unheard of event as other Hands on occasion
duplicated such efforts-for the election of the
National Spiritual Assemblies of Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Guinea, and Upper West Africa;
during this same year Enoch again toured
twelve West African countries, assisting them to
win their goals, and, returning to Uganda, spent

the remainder of that year as well as the opening months of 1976 intensively working
amongst the Baha'i communities there. During
the summer of that year Enoch also revisited
eight countries of West Africa before representing the Universal House of Justice, in January
1977, at the International Teaching Conference
held in Brazil and later attending a similar conference in Merida, Mexico, visiting some other
countries in the western hemisphere, and
returning from the New World to Africa in
time to represent the Universal House of Justice
at the inaugural Convention of the National
Spiritual Assembly of Upper Volta. Having revisited various neighbouring countries, Enoch
returned to Uganda to devote the remaining two
years of his life to protecting, comforting,
stimulating and preserving the endangered
Baha'i community of his native land, in the bitter throes of a terrible civil war, the aftermath
of which eventually led to his own death.
News of the banning of the Faith in September
1977-the official dissolution of all its administrative bodies and activities-reached Enoch in
Kampala; he is reported to have said: "No! No
one can ban the Faith of God ... " For the Baha'is
it was a shocking and heartbreaking experience,
the more so because the first Temple of Africa
stood on Kikaya Hill, on the outskirts of Kampala, and the Ugandan believers had always been
a distinguished and thriving community. Enoch
drafted a letter to the President, which he and
the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly
delivered to the President's office, calling his

attention to the nature and status of the Faith
and the respect it had always enjoyed in Uganda.
This and other petitions had no effect whatsoever.
Enoch's deep study of the Teachings and wide
experience made him an ideal shield for the
Cause of God during that crucial period; realizing the hopelessness of protest and petition, he
set himself to do three things: to ensure that the
believers obeyed the government implicitly; to
encourage them and keep alive their faith; to
protect the Baha'i properties and remove to a
safe place its sacred and irreplaceable archive
materials, which he stored in Tilling. Immediately following the edict Enoch and Mr. Isimai,
the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, hap closed the National Headquarters at the
Temple site, refusing even to sell Baha'i books.
There can be little doubt that this complete
obedience to the government decree, conforming as it did with the explicit instructions
of Baha'u'llah Himself that Baha'is must obey
their governments, was the best possible way of
protecting the precious Temple, which was
never confiscated, occupied or damaged, but left
in the custody of the Baha'is.
Following upon the banning of the Faith, the
Universal House of Justice made the Hand of the
Cause and the two Counsellors, Oloro Epyeru
and Kolonario Oule, responsible for the guidance and protection of the Ugandan community,
a duty they discharged with great devotion until
the Universal House of Justice was able to reestablish an administrative body in August 1979.

As the months went by Uganda sank ever
deeper into bitter civil war, terrorism and
chaos, in the tide of which Enoch and his family
were eventually so tragically engulfed. It should
be remembered that Enoch was not only a famous Baha'f-the first African Hand of the
Cause and one of the only two Negro Hands, the
other being Louis Gregory of the United States
-but also a well-known, capable, prosperous
business man, with relatives and friends in high
positions. As a consequence of this prominence
he was a target for subversive elements. His son
George recalls his father's telling him, even before the war broke out, that he had discovered
his name was on a list due for "elimination" in
Teso. During those crucial times Enoch often
said he would never leave Uganda, never run
away. ,
In March 1979, when the war of liberation
was gaining momentum day by day, he decided
to motor from Tilling to Kampala, a distance of
some 300 kilometres; his uncle came to remonstrate with him, pointing out the dangers, and
urging him not to go, but Enoch was not dissuaded and said: "What do I have to fear? Did
the Bab run away? Did Baha'u'llah run away?
Did 'Abdu'l-Baha run away?", and described
how wonderful it was to die a true believer, that
if the veil were lifted between this world and
the next we would yearn to die.
On the way to Kampala he met with a terrible
automobile accident when an army lorry struck
his car, knocking it off the road into a gorge,
where it rolled over and over; he was also

robbed of a large sum of money. This occurred
on the 25th; that night, as Enoch and his family
prayed together in their Kampala home, he
assured them that were it not for Baha'u'llah, he
would most certainly have died from such an
accident. As if this were not enough shock for
the family to bear, two days later Enoch's son
Badi vanished without a trace; a week later,
however, he returned unscathed; it seemed soldiers had hijacked him and his pick-up for a job
out of town, later releasing him. After Badi disappeared, as the situation in the city became increasingly dangerous, the Olingas went up to the
Temple property, about 10 kilometres away, a
long and exhausting walk for Enoch, who was
still in great pain after his accident. By 6 April
he decided to send his youngest child, Tahirih,
with her mother back to Tilling-which they
were fortunate to reach alive as the train was
strafed by bullets many times on the way.
Miraculously Badi returned safely at this time
and Enoch promptly sent him and his brother
Patrick after them. He himself was too weak as
a result of the accident to make the arduous trip
back to Tilling.
Enoch now returned alone to his home on Kitante Road. By 10 April thousands of people
were in flight from Kampala, which was being
heavily bombarded; once again Enoch was persuaded to seek refuge on the Temple property
and made his painful way there, on foot,
struggling against the frightened crowds of
people leaving the city. All that night a fierce
artillery battle raged around Kikaya Hill; he

spent the night praying and wondering what was
happening to the House of Worship and if he
would ever see the dawn. The next day, however, the Temple still stood unscathed and the
longed-for news was broadcast that Amin's government had been defeated. Enoch and another
believer hastened to the Mother Temple of
Africa, opened all the nine doors and offered
prayers of thanksgiving to Baha'u'llah. How appropriate, how mysterious, that dear Enoch,
who had been present at the cornerstone-laying
of the Temple in 1958, should with his own
hands throw open those doors!
The following day Enoch went to Kampala,
anxious for the safety of his house, as both the
soldiers and the local population were extensively looting the city; he arrived to see it being
stripped bare and narrowly escaped being shot
as he was accused of being one of Amin's
men-an accusation which fortunately he successfully refuted! There being nothing he could
do, he returned to the Temple where his protection was essential during those wholly lawless
days of transition. Elizabeth and his children
were eager to rejoin him, so he decided to restore and refurnish his home.
Although the ban on the Faith was not officially lifted for some months, the situation had
entirely changed and the Universal House of
Justice decided to appoint an interim administrative body to gradually reorganize Baha'f activities and take charge of Baha'i properties in
preparation for the time when the National
Spiritual Assembly could be re-elected. The

first meeting of this Uganda Administrative
Committee would take place on 25-26 August in
the National Headquarters; the derelict state of
this and other buildings at the Temple site distressed Enoch very much and with few to help
him, he set about preparing the Ijaifratu'l-Quds,
cleaning it up, arranging the offices and files,
even going so far as to himself assist in washing
the floors. For Enoch service always meant doing what needed to be done. He was radiantly
happy over this event; when the Committee
members gathered, each was presented with the
gift of a new prayer book, with passages
marked to be read, for Enoch had a "wellworked-out and soul-stirring devotional programme"; the group then proceeded to the
Mashriqu'l-Adhkar for the solemn inauguration
of their historic function, and afterwards visited
the grave of the Hand of the Cause Musa
Banan.f, who is buried in its vicinity. Enoch was
invited to chair the first meeting and read the
letter of the Universal House of Justice appointing the Committee and outlining its functions;
he then observed that they were now "an arm of
the Universal House of Justice stretched over
Uganda" and called upon them at all times to
rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to assist
them. On the second day Enoch again was invited to act as chairman; he outlined their duties, stressing the crying needs of the Baha'f
community throughout the country and the serious condition of the Temple property, which
had perforce been neglected and suffered
depredations-telephone connections, water

supply, lawn mowers, office equipment, all
required urgent attention.
Enoch's son George, recalling his father's last
days, says he spent most of his time on Kikaya
Hill; he was happy, the formation of the new
Ugandan Administrative Committee had lifted a
great burden; after all the years of frustration
and anxiety, at last the administrative edifice of
the Faith was again raised and he told some of
the friends that this was such a relief, he was
ready to die. He loved serving the Temple,
cleaning and sweeping it out on Saturdays so it
would be ready for the Sunday morning public
service; many times he himself would slash
away at the overgrown lawns surrounding it
with the heavy panga knife, working to the
point of exhaustion. When he heard the lawn
mowers had at last been procured in Nairobi for
this work he was delighted as now the muchneglected, beautiful gardens could be gradually
restored.
The strain and horror of the months of violent
war had particularly affected the health and
spirits of Enoch's youngest child, Tahirih, who
was approaching her fifteenth birthday. It was
the family custom of the Olingas to gather together on holidays and special occasions, and
Elizabeth and Enoch decided a reunion should
take place around the week-end of Sunday, 16
September, which they hoped, in addition to all
being together again, would cheer Tahirih up.
Forough was in her late pregnancy and had been
badly beaten and kicked when soldiers broke
into her home in Fort Portal; she did not know

if the baby still lived, and after this attack she
and George and the children went to Enoch's
home in Kampala, where Forough saw a doctor;
Elizabeth, however, was not satisfied and insisted that George must take her to a Baha'i
doctor in Mombasa, Kenya, for examination and
treatment, and gave her some money to purchase while there a skirt and blouse for Tahirih
as there was nothing to be obtained in Uganda.
Enoch told them he would be expecting them
back for the family reunion; all of this took
place about three weeks before his death.
Enoch did not attend the second meeting of the
Uganda Administrative Committee, which was
held on 15 September in the I:Ia~fratu'l-Quds,
the Counsellor, Mr. Kolonario Oule having
specially come from Teso to discuss certain
matters with them. In the Kitante Road house
only Tahirih, Lennie and Badi were there with
their parents that weekend; George and his
family were still in Kenya, Patrick was delayed
on a job in Teso and Godwin was also late in
getting home. The arrival of these three sons of
Enoch was delayed, seemingly by trivial circumstances, yet thus their lives were saved, for
had they returned earlier they would surely
have been murdered with the rest. It was the
custom of the family in those disturbed times to
always leave someone inside the home to protect
it, in addition to the houseboy who also acted as
gardener and lived next to the house in a separate building. On that Sunday, however, 16
September, Forough reports, Enoch insisted

they should take a picnic lunch and all of them
go to Kikaya Hill for the day.
Mrs. Catherine Kabali, an Auxiliary Board
member, was an eyewitness to the events of
those days. The friends were going to the Temple grounds earlier than usual because the Hand
of the Cause wasá going to brief them on the sit-
/

uation of the persecuted Baha' is in Iran. She describes Enoch, in his white suit, with his "brilliant and dignified face", joyfully joining the
singing in the Temple service of a Swahili
offering, "Be happy, be happy, because it is the
day of oneness todayl" Some Baha'i young
people had come down from Teso with Mr.
Oule to help clean up the Temple property and
later in the day they provided music; Enoch and
Elizabeth joined in the dancing; when Tahirih
hung back shyly her parents swept her into the
dance too and all danced and danced. Mrs. Kabali writes: "I remember Elizabeth dancing,
waving her hands, not knowing yet she will
leave this world tonight. She waved and waved,
saying goodbye.
When the family returned home, neighbours
later mentioned, Mr. Olinga had seemed in a
very good mood, walking about his garden,
waving to them and saying, "hello After the
•

terrible events of that night the Counsellor, Mr.
Peter Vuyiya arrived in Kampala from Nairobi
a few days later. His report conveys an accurate
observation of the situation in the city at that
time, the background against which the terrible
drama of Enoch's murder took place: "Staying
in the middle of the town, I had the full effect

of the state of anarchy in Kampala at night...it
was impossible to tell the police Kombis from
any other that might have been responsible for
murders in the city and its environs. Every
night, however, brought with it the murder of
yet another family." He wisely adds: "With so
much speculation regarding what might have
been the motive of the murders, I have thought
it more safe to steer clear of the questions why,
when and how the murders took place." With
surety we will never know-as with all evil
deeds, unwitnessed, in nights of terror and
chaos throughout history.
From many first-hand accounts, however, the
following events of that terrible crime seem
clear: the family had its evening meal together
-the houseboy had seen them about to serve it;
the dishes were neatly stacked in the kitchen
sink as usual, where they were found the next
day; the houseboy stated that he was in his room
when, about 8:30, he heard someone shaking the
gate to the compound and, looking through the
window, saw five armed men walking towards
the back door leading to the kitchen (it is believed a sixth man was left to guard the gate).
They shouted "Open" and banged on the door.
Lennie opened the door and there was a sound
of shots; the houseboy fled over the fence to
hide in the neighbour's bushes and remained
there in terror all night, seeing nothing but
hearing shooting and other sounds going on for
about two hours; at dawn he ventured out of
hiding, went to the house, seeing the body of
Enoch lying in the courtyard and inside, all in

an inner bedroom, the bodies of Elizabeth,
Tahirih, Lennie and Badi, heaped on the floor
where they had fallen when shot to death. People were beginning to gather outside and they
told him he should inform the police, which he
did, and then, with singular loyalty to Enoch
and his family, went to Kikaya Hill to give the
news. Mr. Oule from Teso, who was sleeping
on the Temple property, was informed of the
unbelievable tragedy which had taken place; it
was only because he wished to go at dawn to the
Temple for prayers-not having been in Kampala for some time-that he was not killed also
for he invariably stayed in Enoch's home. Mr.
Oule, the Board member Catherine Kabali, and
her sister Edith Senoga-who both lived on
Kikaya Hill-then rushed to the home of Enoch.
Their horror and grief at what they found was
indescribable. It is greatly to the credit of the
African friends in Kampala that, crushed and
overwhelmed as they were by this truly staggering tragedy-a tragedy which shocked the
Baha'f world to its furthest corners-they went
into action immediately and efficiently in spite
of their personal, heart-rending grief.
The oldest pioneer, Claire Gung, frail and in
her seventies, was at once informed and was
able to telephone Nairobi and give the news.
George and his family had motored up on the
16th from Mombasa to Nairobi and at the National Headquarters found a telegram from
Enoch giving a list of spare parts for his car he
wished them to bring in addition to a number of
other thi11;gshe had ordered. Planning to buy

these things and then proceed to Kampala-an
eight-hour drive-George and Forough went
shopping in the city. It was while they were absent the news came from Kampala; the Counsellor, Peter Vuyiya was there and was able to
telephone the Universal House of Justice, which
was in session at the time, and speak to Enoch's
spiritual father, 'Alf Nakhjavanf. If anything
could be considered fortunate during so much
calamity it was this, that the House of Justice
was in a position to immediately instruct the
friends that the Counsellor Kolonario Oule, together with the Uganda Administrative Committee, whose members were already gathered in
Kampala, should take charge of the situation,
make all necessary arrangements and ensure that
a befitting funeral for the Hand of the Cause and
his family would take place.
The problem facing the Baha'is in Nairobi was
how to break the news to George and Forough.
To blurt it out was beyond the capacity of these
loving friends, so the National secretary wrote a
short, most tender letter of condolence, explaining what had occurred and it was handed to
George and Forough when they came back to
the Centre. George's one desire was to reach his
father and do everything necessary. In spite of
remonstrances, the family left for Kisumu that
same afternoon and that night George, to his
great comfort, was able to talk to 'Alf Nakhjavani in Haifa. The next morning, well knowing nothing was available in Uganda, they
bought the material for the five shrouds and left
for Kampala. In the midst of lamentation and

shock, the surviving sons, Patrick and Godwin,
joined George; Enoch's two older daughters,
Grace and Florence, married and living abroad,
hastened to Kampala with their husbands, as did
Forough's brother; already friends and relatives
had arrived from Teso on the night of the 17th,
including the Counsellor, Oloro Epyeru, who
had been prevented by illness from coming to
Kampala for the meetings of the Uganda Administrative Committee; everyone shared the
grief of the children, everyone came to be present at the funeral; the harassed family, for over
a week, fed from eighty to one hundred and
fifty people a day in the Kitante Road home.
The bodies of the slain Olingas had been
removed to a hospital pending arrangements for
the burial. During the hours of curfew every
night the city was still racked with gunfire and
acts of terrorism, including the murder of many
other entire families. Indeed, during that week
Enoch's home was subjected one night to heavy
gunfire, everyone in the house lying on the
floor for protection; fortunately no one was injured and the police put a guard on the building.
To make all the suitable arrangements, procure
suitable coffins, dig five graves on Kikaya Hill,
get the authorities to provide police escort for
the funeral cortege, find transportation for the
coffins, the family and the large throng of
mourners-it all required truly herculean
efforts.
In the world press the murder of Enoch
received wide notice: "A world leader of the
Baha'i religious sect, his wife and three children

were murdered in the Ugandan capital Kampala
on Sunday", it spread like wildfire; the Ugandan
radio, on 17 September, broadcast the news in
six vernacular languages so the Baha'is
throughout the country might be informed of
the fate of the "Father of Victories".
On the morning of 24 September-which
coincided with Tahirih's birthday-the five
coffins were removed from the mortuary of the
hospital and taken to Enoch's home where,
flower-draped, they were placed in the sittingroom; prayers were read, and many people
came to pay their last respects; by 12: 15 the funeral procession was ready to leave for Kikaya
Hill, two motorcycle policemen preceding it,
then a car carrying the Counsellors, followed by
the car carrying the coffin of the Hand of the
Cause which was followed by another one carrying Elizabeth's coffin and a third carrying the
three coffins of the children. It was only
through the cooperation of many non-Baha'i
friends that this transport had been procured.
Followed by cars bearing the family, the
cortege went slowly along Gayaza Road towards
the Temple; hundreds of people lined the
streets, some wept while some were heard to
cry: "Look at the bodies! Eh, eh, another one!
Oh, another one!" A wave of public sympathy
swept the crowd. With great respect the five
coffins were placed in a row in the hall of the
National Headquarters, flowers laid upon them,
and a beautiful and uplifting funeral service
held; a number of prominent Ugandan officials,
friends of Enoch and admirers of the Faith,

attended it. In a burial plot not far from the
Temple on Kikaya Hill Enoch Olinga was laid to
rest next to Musa Bananf, his fellow Hand; the
one designated the "Spiritual Conqueror of
Africa" was joined in death by the "Father of
Victories". Nearby Elizabeth and Tahirih, Badi
and Lennie were placed in their graves.
To the Baha'fs of the world the Universal
House of Justice announced Enoch's passing:
WITH GRIEF-STRICKEN HEARTS ANNOUNCE
TRAGIC NEWS BRUTAL MURDER DEARLY
LOVED GREATLY ADMIRED HAND CAUSE GOD
ENOCH OLINGA BY UNKNOWN GUNMEN
COURTYARD HIS KAMP ALA HOME. HIS WIFE
ELIZABETH AND THREE OF HIS CHILDREN
BADI, LENNIE AND T AHIRIH HA VE ALSO
FALLEN INNOCENT VICTIMS THIS CRUEL ACT.
MOTIVE ATTACK NOT YET ASCERTAINED. HIS
RADIANT SPIRIT HIS UNWAVERING FAITH HIS
ALL-EMBRACING LOVE HIS LEONINE AUDA-
CITY IN THE TEACHING FIELD HIS TITLES
KNIGHT BAHA'U'LLAH FATHER VICTORIES
CONFERRED BELOVED GUARDIAN ALL
COMBINE DISTINGUISH HIM AS PREEMINENT
MEMBER HIS RACE IN ANNALS FAITH AFRICAN
CONTINENT. URGE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE
HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BEFITTING
TRIBUTE HIS IMPERISHABLE MEMORY.
FERVENTLY PRAYING HOLY SHRINES

PROGRESS HIS NOBLE SOUL AND SOULS FOUR
MEMBERS HIS PRECIOUS FAMILY.

Enoch had an example he used to give to the
Baha'fs: he said all of us are like guitars; when a
guitar hears of a great Divine Musician he hopes
to be played upon by this Musician. He offers
himself to the Supreme Musician. The Musician
accepts him, takes the guitar close to Himself,
plays upon it. But soon He finds the strings are
out of tune. The Musician starts tuning one,
winding the string tighter. The pressure is
painful to the guitar, it resists the winding. Then
instead of yielding, the string breaks. As it is the
wish of the guitar to give forth the divine
melody, the great Musician plays upon the
strings that remain. But the tune is still wrong.
So the Musician starts tuning another string. It
resists and finally breaks. Still the guitar wishes
to be played upon. The Musician plays upon
these fewer strings. Again and again a string
needs tuning. Again and again the guitar refuses
to yield to the winding, the pressure. At last
only one string is left and to be faithful to the
offer of the guitar the Divine Musician says, "I
will play on this one string." But that too is out
of tune. Again the winding, the terrible pressure, and this one string also breaks. Then the
Musician has no choice but to lay the guitar
aside. Thus are tests given by God to perfect us,
not to destroy us. The destruction comes only
from our resistance to the tuning. The purpose
is not punishment but the intention to fulfil the
desire of the guitar to be played upon.

How many tests Enoch surmounted, submitting
in the Hands of his beloved Baha'u'llah, to the
tuning of the Divine Musician, until finally the
guitar was laid aside for good-but the music
remams.

Aldw, Israel, 1957, the historic gathering of"Hands of"tlie Cause of"God
at Bahji short(r after the passing of"tlie Guardian

Akka, Israel, 1961, Hands of"the Cause of God at Balrji,
Tarazu '!lall Samandari, Amatu '!-Baha Ru!tz1:rih Khanum,
Abu 'l-Qasim Faid, Enoch O/inga
Akka, Israel, 1957, Hands of the Cause of God at Bal1ii,
Hermann Grossmann, William Sears, Enoch O/inga

Germany, 1972, Hands of the Cause of God at the Pion Conference,
Enoch O/inga, Abu 'l-Qasim Faizi, Dr. Adelbert Muhlschlegel
Haifa, Israel, /973, Hands of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga and Dr. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir at the Shrine of
the Bab
Merida, Mexico, 3 February 1977, Hands of the Cause of God
Paul Haney and Enoch Olinga inviting the Governor to the
Merida Conference
Kampala, Uganda, Rh/van 1969, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch O!inga with the National Spiritual Assemb~r
of Uganda and Central Afiáica

Zambia, 1967, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga with the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bah a'is of Zambht
Freetown, Sierra Leone, 19-20 April 1975.
First National Convention of the Balui'is of Sierra Leone, with
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga

Singapore. 1-3 January 1971, Oceanic Conference,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga with a blind
Malaysian believer, Luke Lee, who volunteered to pioneer
Singapore, 1-3 January 1971, Oceanic Conference,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga greeting Mrs. George Lee,
member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia
and one of Singapore's earliest beliel'ers

Tejeria, Department of Cochabamba, Bolil'ia,
June 1970, Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga with the
Indian Balui'is of the community of Tejeria
Nc1slzville,Tennessee, United States, October 1970,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch O/inga with Balui'i.fiáie11ds

Bangui, Central African Republic, November 1974,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch O/inga at the Nineteen Day Feast
Solomon Islands, December 1970,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga holding baby
(Courtesy of Ron Batchelor)
Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Japan, December 1970,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga holding Japanese
Baha'i child

Indonesia, 1971,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga with Baha'i children
Bogota, Colombia, July 1970,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga with Baha'i children
Turangawaewae, New Zealand, 18 October 1958,
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga
addressing Maori gathering at the meeting house
Saskatchewan, Canada, 1970, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch O!inga in native headdress with Indian Bahit'is taking
part in teaching and proclamation project.
Left to right, standing, Bill Asham (Cree by tribe),
Shirley Lindstrom (Yukon Tlingit by tribe), Enoch Olinga,
Louise Cardinal (Cree by tribe), Hazel Johns (Yukon Tlingit by tribe);
sitting, Alec Poorman (Cree by tribe),
Cal Lindstrom (Yukon Tlingit by tribe)
(Courtesy Joanie Anderson)

Badjiran Village, The Gambia, June 1976,
local Bah a'is in front of the new centre with
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga
Hokkaido, Japan, December 1970, Balui'ifriends in the centre
at Shiraoi with Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga

Fiji, 1971, Baha'i friends of Fiji with Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga
Singapore, January 1971.
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch 0/inga at the Oceanic Conference

Stavanger, Norway, 1972 Balui'{friends with
Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga and Mrs. Elizabeth Olinga
Baha'i, Salvador, January 1977, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch O/inga and his wife Elizabeth at the Haziratu '1-Quds

Kampala, Uganda, September 1979, Olingafamily and friends,
last photograph taken of the Hand of the Cause before his murder
(two weeks later)
PART II

ENOCH OLINGA
REMINISCENCES OF MOMENTS WITH HIM

Forward

When I first set my reminiscences of Enoch
Olinga down on paper, I decided to send a copy
to Mr. 'Alf Nakbjavanf in the Holy Land and ask
him for his comments. His answer dated
December 30, 1992 was very encouraging. He
wrote, "I read your 'Reminiscences' of our dear
Olinga with much joy, and I truly envied you
for writing this appreciation of a Hand of the
Cause who is much loved throughout the world,
and is specially cherished by the friends on the
African Continent."
This answer encouraged me very much, and I
thought that I should seek the opinion of one of
the Counsellors in Africa. On November 25,
1993, Counsellor Gila Bahta wrote from
Ethiopia,

I never forget your paper about Hand of the
Cause of God Enoch Olinga but due to pressure of work. .. Now I decided to study it care-

fully and found out that the topic or the subject
Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga was timely
and it was dealt with excellently. The narration
is coherent, alluring and compel[s one] to read
it without interruption. It took me few hours to
read it through. I was very happy that you succeeded to write about the Hand of the Cause
Enoch Olinga in such excellent presentation
which he deserves.
I did not try to go in[to] detail to study the
construction of the phrases and the language
because I was attracted by your narration.
When I read Mr. Gila's statement about his not
trying to go into "detail to study the construction of the phrases and the language," I felt very
lucky. I then decided to write to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'fs of Uganda and
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'fs
of Cameroon for their review of the
manuscript.
In a letter dated 19th August 1994 the National
Spiritual Assembly of Uganda wrote back:

We thank you very much for your letter of
14 February 1994 in which you had enclosed a
copy of 'Enoch Olinga: Reminiscences of Moments with him' for our review and comments.
The following are some of our observations:
1- On page (3) the fourth language is Luganda. 1
2- On page (5) the last paragraph reading the
Ugandan name Olinga. This refers to the Etesot tribe in Eastern Uganda who would chant it
and not all Ugandans.

We would be grateful if you could share with
us copies of the letters you have mentioned.
We highly recommend you for the work you
have done and assure you of our prayers in the
Mother Temple of Africa for guidance and
protection.

With loving Baha'f greetings,
National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha'fs of Uganda.
(Signed) George Olinga,
Secretary.

It was most significant to me that George
Olinga, the son of Mr. Olinga, had signed the
National Spiritual Assembly's letter concerning
this book about his cherished father.
The National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon
informed me in a letter dated 28 September
1994 that they had asked Mrs. Ursula Samandari
to carry out the review I had requested. She responded that she had read the manuscript "With
deep appreciation", and provided a useful correction to my account of one of Enoch Olinga' s
conversations with the beloved Guardian which
she, being on pilgrimage at the same time as he,
had heard directly from him at the time. An excerpt from her letter on this subject is included
in a footnote.
I hope, dear Reader, you will enjoy reading
these accounts of the Knight of Baha'u'llah, the
Hand of the Cause of God, the Father of Victories, Enoch Olinga. And when you have finished
reading them I hope you will tell the story of

this wonderful Black Rose, which was prematurely cut from its life-stalk by an unfathomable
Divine Wisdom, but which wafted its sweet
fragrances far and wide around the world in
such a short period of bloom.

Rowshan Mustapha
1996

PART II

ENOCH OLINGA

REMINISCENCES OF MOMENTS WITH HIM*

by Rowshan Mustapha

The place was Tunis International Airport.
The year was 1956. It was Ric;lvan, and on that
beautiful Mediterranean day a flock of Baha'fs
from Tunis were there to meet the delegates
from the sub-Saharan territories to the first
Convention of the Regional Spiritual Assembly
of Northwest Africa. Tunis, the capital of
Tunisia, was to be the seat of that National
Spiritual Assembly for the next eight years. A
lot of preparation had been undertaken in Tunis
to arrange for the success of the Convention
and, while we had the names of the delegates,
we had not met them before.
Mr. Musa Banani, Hand of the Cause of God
for Africa, came to the Convention. Mr. 'Ali
N akbjavanf also came with the delegates. I had
had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Banani and Mr.
Nakbjavanf in 1951 in Cairo when they were on
their way to Uganda. In 1956 the Tunis Airport
was small, and visitors were able to watch the
* Edited by Felicity Enayat.

arnvmg passengers queue through the formalities. As the passengers went through police
and customs, we recognized Mr. Nakhjavanf,
who was helping fill in the disembarkation
cards. At one moment he called for Enoch, and
Enoch came towards him out of the group of
delegates in the queue. This is how I came to see
Mr. Enoch Olinga for the first time. He was
above average height, well built, and had a
beautiful face.
To obtain their visas to Tunisia, the delegates
had applied for a visa "to attend a Baha'i Convention in Tunis," and gave Mr. Mustapha
Boushousha as their reference there. This was
sufficient for the French delegations, who took
care of the affairs of Tunisia at the time, to
approve the visas. Mustapha Boushousha was
esteemed in Tunisia and widely known to be
Baha'i. When the delegates came out after all
the controls were completed, they were greeted
by everyone with those warm, world-embracing, Persian-style hugs that seem to have become a characteristic of our spiritual family all
over the globe.
We had very little time to associate with the
delegates during the Convention period, but
Ulfet (Mr. Boushousha' s eldest daughter) and I
arranged to take them in twos and threes for
tours of Tunis in our small Peugeot 203. (Ulfet
and I alone called it a car; most of the friends
differed with us on this point.) In the evenings
we would take them to Bab-Souika, where Ramadan festivities went on all night into the early
morning hours. Ramadan, the month of Muslim

fasting, had coincided with the period of Ridvan
that year.
The Convention proceeded and Enoch Olinga
was elected its secretary. Although not a delegate myself, I was admitted to the Convention as
member of the Committee that had prepared for
it, and was therefore able to follow the proceedings. I do not remember Mr. Olinga participating in the consultation. That is, he did not speak.
He was there listening, and writing down notes
for his report. At the end of the Convention,
when he read the report, the chairman Miss
Elsie Austin praised it.
Enoch Olinga was elected member of the
Regional Spiritual Assembly of Northwest
Africa, which at its emergence in 1956 and until
1964 represented the vastest area ever for a
National Spiritual Assembly. There were
twenty-five territories, starting with Tunisia in
the north, covering all territories going
westward, and extending southward until the
Cameroons and Spanish Guinea.
Following an Assembly meeting in Tunis in
the autumn of 1956, Mr. Olinga requested
permission for pilgrimage. The Guardian gave
him permission for February 1957. To go back
to the Cameroons and return to the Holy Land
within ten weeks or a little more was deemed
costly, and so Olinga waited in Tunis, to the joy
of the friends here. Ulfet and I had the lion's
share of his company because he stayed with us
for two months or more. He also stayed with the
Sabirans for a couple of weeks.

At the time our home was small; it had only a
bedroom, a sitting room, and a small hall or
entryway, that served as a dining room and living room. My sister Laila, who was a pioneer
from Egypt, lived with us too. With Mr. Olinga
at home, the friends came to our house often to
visit him, so our little home was filled with life.
A few weeks after Ulfet and I married (our
marriage had taken place some six weeks after
the Convention), I was fired from my job with
the Ministry of Agriculture; after a month of
unemployment I got a new job. This meant I
had to spend much time at my new job to make
sure I did everything possible to avoid being
fired again. To be newly married and jobless
was a situation I really did not want. Ulfet had
to work too, in spite of the fact that it was not
customary at all at the time for a Tunisian
young lady to work. My sister also had to work
hard. This meant that all of us had to stay up
late at night to do the secretarial work of the
newly elected Regional Spiritual Assembly.
Ulfet, Laila, Mr. Sabiran and 'Abdu'l-Hamid
Khemfri, the first Tunisian Baha'i, who had accepted the Faith in 1921, all helped with this
work. The activity in our little home was
prodigious, starting early in the morning and
continuing till midnight. This was the environment in which Mr. Olinga was patiently living
while he was with us in Tunis.
One day Olinga decided he would like to learn
Arabic. Khemfri and Laila volunteered to teach
him. He bought an exercise book and every
evening he had Arabic lessons. But to get the

correct pronunciat10n of the difficult and
unusual Arabic letters was a different problem.
Thus, while Ulfet- and I were working hard
writing and tapping away on the typewriter in
the living room, Olinga with Khemfrf and Laila
were working hard at these "vocal arrangements" in the sitting room. Fortunately none of
our neighbours overheard the bizarre mixture
of sounds that issued from those two rooms. By
the time Olinga was to leave for Haifa, he had
made some progress with his Arabic.
When he returned from pilgrimage in February 1957, he told us the following story about
his conversation with the Guardian about the
languages he spoke. I shall convey this story in
the words that Ursula Samandari remembers
hearing from Olinga, as she was with him during pilgrimage: " ...the Guardian asked me how
many languages I could speak. I answered that I
spoke Swahili, Teso, English, etc. and I thought
but did not say, 'and I am learning Arabic.' The
Guardian stopped, turned round and said, 'But
Persian is easier."' 1 In reporting this story to
us, Mr. Olinga concluded that this ended his
pains to learn Arabic.
When the day came for Olinga to leave us for
the Holy Land, a band of friends went to see
him off at the airport. I was not able to go, but
Ulfet went, and returned to tell me the following story: "We had seen Olinga go through police and customs, and we all went to see him go
onto the plane. (At that time this was possible; it
is not possible now.) The passengers had all embarked except Olinga, who was nowhere to be

seen. The loudspeakers came on and called
Olinga to the embarkation gate. But he was still
nowhere to be seen. We were frantic and did
not know what to do, or what could have happened to him.
"The steps were taken back from the plane and
the plane door was closing when Olinga appeared with his hand luggage dashing down the
apron towards the plane. The steps went back,
the door reopened and Olinga went in to our
deep relief. An onlooker asked me, 'Is he a
boxer?"'
During that year, I had a feeling that Mr.
Olinga was going through the most distressing
period of his life, and there was quite an effort
made to extend his stay with us with a view to
relieving some of his distress. I do not remember how long he stayed in the Holy Land, but
we knew that he was to return to Tunis before
going back to the Cameroons. We were waiting
for a cablegram announcing his arrival.
No word came of his return. One afternoon I
was at work, when Mubyf'd-Dfn M'rad, a
Baha'f, phoned from the Cafe de Paris on the
main street in the centre of Tunis, and asked me
to come over quickly because Mr. Olinga was
there.
I ran down the three hundred yards or so separating the office where I was working from the
cafe, and there was Mr. Olinga with Mul)yf' d-
Dfn. I soon found out what had happened.
Mul)yf' d-Dfn was at the cafe with some of his
friends when he saw Mr. Olinga walking alone
on the main street along the pavement in front

of the cafe. As he spoke no English, he simply
gestured to Mr. Olinga to sit down with them
and not to leave, and then went and phoned me.
I tried to find out why Mr. Olinga had not
•advised us of his return, and how he found his
way from the airport to the main street, and
above all, where he had intended to go. I could
get no answer. I was grateful to Baha'u'llah that
he was not lost, but was guided to be there
where Mul)yf' d-Dfn was able to see him. Mr.
Olinga seemed very thoughtful during the rest
of his stay with us.
One of the first things he asked me was, "What
does Abu'l-Futul) mean?" I could not understand
why he asked this question and simply explained
this was an Arabic name. In fact we had a
prominent Baha'f in Egypt whose first name
was Abu'l-Futul) and I told him that to my
knowledge it meant "father of conquests." Then
he told me that the beloved Guardian had given
him that title. The National Assembly later received a letter on behalf of the Guardian in
which the correct translation of Abu'l-Futul;i
was given: "Father of Victories".
Mr. Olinga was the sort of person whose calm
and serene face hid entirely both thoughts and
feelings. With the exception of a slight rise of
his eyebrows, there was no sign of his inner reactions, except, Oh yes! except, when he
laughed. Unfortunately we had no means at the
time to record him on film or on tape laughing.
Anybody who has seen and heard Mr. Olinga
laugh will remember it for life.

Mr. Boushousha, who was Ulfet's father and
one of the early Tunisian Baha'fs, was a person
whose company always brought deep happiness.
He often came around after our working hours
and sat with Mr. Olinga. Boushousha spoke no
English, but he had many jokes, and every
evening he would tell one or two, which were
translated for Mr. Olinga. To make things even
better, Boushousha mimed the different scenes
of the joke. Normally laughter would come at
the end of a joke, but Olinga usually started
laughing earlier on and by the time the last
scene was through, he was literally doubled up
with laughter, and all of us with him, in spite of
the fact that we had heard these jokes many
times before. After a few such evenings there
were no more new jokes. No more new jokes?
No problem! All Boushousha had to do was
mime the jokes he had already told. No words
and no translation-nothing but mime-and Mr.
Olinga was on the floor with laughter.
One evening Ulfet and I happened to come
home together; as we came to the front door we
heard Olinga's all out laughter. We ran up the
flight of stairs to find him on the floor with
laughter and crying out to the only other occupant of the house: "Mr. Boushousha, please
stop!" Boushousha had never said a word. He
spoke no English. All he did was mime. Olinga
used to say, years after, that many times he had
tried to recount the jokes he heard in Tunis to
the friends in the Cameroons and elsewhere, but
he would laugh so much immediately upon

starting the joke that he was never able to finish
telling a single one of them.
One day while some of the Assembly members
were resting between sessions, talking about
subjects to pass time, Olinga told us a story
about his childhood which I shall produce here
as correctly as my memory allows. I remember
Miss Elsie Austin and Miss Valerie Wilson were
there, so were Bill Foster and Khemfrf:
Mr. Olinga must have been seven or eight
years old when one day he decided to go into
the bush. He had not gone many yards when he
suddenly saw an arm of a gorilla coming out of
a side trail towards him. He ran back as fast as
his legs would take him, and came to his father
or uncle (I do not remember) frightened and
terrified. He explained what he had seen. The
father or uncle immediately called for help and
went out with Enoch into the bush. When they
got to the place where he had said he had seen
the gorilla, there was no gorilla to be found.
The party ventured further along the trail
always looking for the gorilla. Some distance
further down they suddenly came upon a big
boa, which would have probably devoured
young Enoch had he not been frightened back
by what had seemed to him a gorilla. The villagers killed the boa, and continued to search for
the gorilla, which they never found, neither on
that day nor days later. The nearby villages did
not find or meet with any such animal either.
In August 1957, some months after Mr. Olinga
had left us, Ulfet gave birth to the first of our
two sons. We both decided to call him Olinga.

There did not seem to be many Olingas in
Uganda itself at the time, as far as we were able
to understand, but to have a Tunisian child with
the name Olinga was unique. We wondered
whether the municipal authorities would accept
to register our son with a name that was not
Arabic. But we went ahead, and the authorities
accepted. As the father was Egyptian, they
probably attributed the name to some ancient
Egyptian deity. To our non-Baha'i friends and
family we explained what we had heard from
Mr. Olinga: that "Olinga" is a Ugandan name of
a bird that brings the beneficial rainfall, a bird
of paradise; and that when the rains delayed in
the years of drought, the Ugandans (the Etesot
tribe of Eastern Uganda) chanted the song of the
Olinga for the rains to come. We would always
conclude that we had a dear friend whose name
was Olinga and that we named our son after
him.
Ulfet's aunt, a lady of strong character, half
Turkish and half Tunisian, never reconciled
herself to the name. She called our son 'Oli, a
derivative of the well known Arabic name 'Alf.
Although this aunt never became a Baha' f, towards the end of her life she said to Ulfet one
evening, "You know, you (meaning the Baha'fs)
are really treading the true path."
Two months after our Olinga was born, the
beloved Guardian announced the appointment of
Enoch Olinga as Hand of the Cause of God. We
were doubly thrilled.
From the moment our Olinga was born, Mr.
Olinga always called Ulfet "áMummy." "... give

my Baha'i love and greetings to my Mum and to
Myself," he often ended his letters, meaning
Ulfet and little Olinga.
The cherished days we spent together in Tunisia, to which I have been referring above, connect the devoted services Mr. Olinga rendered
to the Faith before and after he was named a
Hand of the Cause of God. The challenges he
faced even before his appointment as Hand of
the Cause were enormous. As a member of the
Regional Spiritual Assembly for Northwest Africa and as secretary of the Teaching Committee
for West Africa, he bore the responsibility of
service on two major institutions of the Faith
and was burdened with the weighty duties that
these institutions alone had to carry out.
The region of Northwest Africa which, on the
morn of the Riqvan Festivities of the year 1956,
became the lot of the nine members of the
newly elected National Spiritual Assembly was
vast. A glance at the map of the region as it was
in 1956 suffices to show the complexities that
existed at the time. All the territories except for
Liberia were under colonial rule. In alphabetical order, these twenty-five territories that
composed the region of Northwest Africa were:
Algeria, Ashanti Protectorate, British
Cameroons, British Togoland, Canary Islands,
Cape Verde Islands, French Cameroons, French
Morocco, French Togoland, French West
Africa, the Gambia, Gold Coast, Liberia,
Madeira Islands, Morocco International Zone
(that is, Tangier), Nigeria, Northern Territories
Protectorate, Portuguese Guinea, Rio de Oro,

St. Thomas Island, Sierra Leone, Spanish
Guinea, Spanish Morocco, Spanish Sahara, and
Tunisia.
Today the three Moroccos -together with the
Spanish Sahara and Rio de Oro have become
one country. British and French Cameroons
have become Cameroon. Ashanti, British Togoland, Gold Coast and the Northern Territories
have become Ghana. And what was French West
Africa has been divided into Benin, Burkina
Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, and Senegal.
All these territories started to obtain their
independence with the establishment of the Regional Spiritual Assembly that was covering
them administratively. Morocco obtained its
independence in March 1956. Tunisia became
independent one month after Ric;lvan 1956, to be
followed by the other territories over the next
few years.
Turbulent conditions dominated the region.
Transport within the individual territories was
in some places impossible, and in many cases
one had to go to Europe first in order to move
from one territory to the other.
There were six main languages to cope with:
Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
and Persian, which was the tongue of those Iranian pioneers who had not yet learned the other
languages. -
The sub-Saharan territories led by the British
Cameroons were receptive to the Word of
Baha'u'llah, but were lacking in material means.
These territories had only one pioneer from

outside the region: Enoch Olinga. The northern
countries that lay along the Mediterranean coast
were inimical to the Faith of Baha'u'llah. Yet
they had many pioneers from Persia, the United
States and Egypt, besides having much better
material possibilities.
With the seat of the administration of this region at its extreme northeastern tip in Tunis,
telephone connections were non-existent with
the sub-Saharan territories and rarely possible
with Algeria or Morocco, its next door neighbours so to speak. Except for the three North
African territories, mail between Tunis and the
region usually went through Europe.
When the four Regional Spiritual Assemblies
of Northwest Africa, Central and East Africa,
South and West Africa, and Northeast Africa
were established in Africa, the Baha'i world was
already three years into the mighty Ten Year
Crusade of the beloved Guardian. Twelve National Spiritual Assemblies were the executives
of the Crusade. Five of them: the United States,
the British, the Egyptian, the Persian and the
Indian National Spiritual Assemblies had responsibilities in what was to become the region
of Northwest Africa. Within weeks of its formation, the newly elected National Assembly
found itself responsible for all that the five participating National Spiritual Assemblies had
shouldered till then.
When the Hand of the Cause Musa Banani was
told at its first meeting following the Convention that the National Spiritual Assembly of
Northwest Africa had planned only four meet-

ings for its first year, his comments were to the
effect that the Assembly may wish to compare
the cost of these meetings with the funds
available. He was indeed farsighted, because the
Assembly suffered terribly in its efforts to hold
meetings in all of its eight years of existence.
Lack of funds and the desire to spend funds only
on vital matters prohibited spending for travel
expenses.
There were also some very difficult territories
where the Assembly had to encourage pioneers
to settle but where they were refused permission
to stay: Spanish Sahara, Rio de Oro, French
Guinea, Spanish Guinea and the St. Thomas and
Principe Islands. All of these places seemed
"impossible territories". Yet the Guardian
wanted them to be settled. The National Spiritual Assembly had no choice but to continually
encourage the believers to try again. When we
examine Mr. Olinga' s role in this work, we will
see how strong his belief was that these goals
could be filled.
During its initial years, the membership of the
newly established National Spiritual Assembly
had only two members from the sub-Saharan
territories: Enoch Olinga and Miss Valerie
Wilson. The territory where Olinga residedthe British Cameroons-was the area where the
teaching work was most progressive. Five
Knights of Baha'u'llah who were Olinga's
spiritual children laboured successfully in
territories neighbouring the British Cameroons.
Hence the real teaching successes came ,from the
territories in the south of the region.

During this early period of the development of
the Faith in West Africa, lack of adequate literature was a problem fraught with anguish. A
book in English that could serve both for
teaching as well as for deepening was badly
needed. In response to this need, Mr. Olinga
wrote a manuscript in four parts and sent it to
the National Spiritual Assembly. Though he no
doubt worked hard and many hours to prepare
it, he later found there was no way to get it
published. He must have suffered greatly that it
remained unpublished while the need for literature grew ever more acute.
To suffer seemed to be Olinga's destiny. He
suffered terribly, though he kept the pain within
himself. This was his lot during the whole period he was on the National Spiritual Assembly
of Northwest Africa. Whether he continued to
suffer after that or not I am in no position to
know. But during the period he was in the area
of Northwest Africa, I know that he suffered. If
suffering is a "must" for a Hand of the Cause,
then in my humble opinion, dear Olinga had his
fair share. There were many reasons for him to
worry and be distressed, and I shall try here to
mention some from amongst those I knew of.
He was most worried about the newly acquired
I:Ia{'.frat'ul-Qudsof Victoria in West Cameroons.
Some friends there thought they could live in
this administrative seat and meeting centre for
the Baha'fs of that community, and there was no
way for them to leave. Olinga had to take care
of the I:Ia~frat'ul-Quds personally. Most of the
families that stayed there were needy. The

whole situation was heart-breaking. How many
times he had given away from his most needed
livelihood, no one can tell. How often he was
obliged to wake up from his sleep at night in
order to help a friend or a family in need, no
one will ever know.
The Knights of Baha'u'llah, who were his
spiritual children and who were pioneers in the
other territories of West Africa, met with many
problems, and naturally they came to him for
help. He was powerless, and so were the other
members of the National Spiritual Assembly, at
some two to three thousand miles away, to come
to their rescue with help, literature and visitors.
A further reason he suffered so much was the
fact that some of the believers around him
completely misunderstood his station and distorted his actions and intentions. These believers
were admittedly young, not only in age but in
the Faith too. These excuses, however, cannot
have attenuated much the sorrow generated in
his loving heart.
Another cause of deep anxiety and indeed terrible suffering was the fact that his family was
not with him. They had remained in Uganda.
Despite these and other tribulations, Mr.
Olinga kept focused on the task at hand. He must
still have been profoundly grieved by the passing of the Guardian when he attended the
Frankfurt Intercontinental Conference in 1958.
Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins was the representative of the Guardian. Hand of the Cause
Ugo Giachery was also there, along with nine
other Hands of the Cause. Ulfet and I, who also

had the privilege of attending, remember Mr.
Olinga' s brilliant role at that Conference. In his
address he drew our attention to our duties in
our Baha' f communities, reminding us that at
conferences such as the one we were attending
we should fill up with spirituality in order to
take it all back to the friends at home.
As early as March 1959, he was concerned
with another vital goal, the universal education
of children. He was at that time thinking of a
school project, which he said he had had in
mind for some time. He wrote to his fellow
National Spiritual Assembly members,

I think the time has come when we shall show
our interest in the education of the children
who are not privileged to have a school. I
think we should begin with "Infancy schools,"
the fundamental beginning of what we might
call "grammar" school. One or two would be a
great victory. If the NSA authorise me to investigate the possibilities of establishing such
schools, and their cost per annum, I would be
willing to undertake the survey (of course in
Mamfe Division of the Southern Cameroons).

In the same letter, which he signs "In His
Love, Enoch," he also emphasizes "the importance of having a place where a Summer school
will hold every year." This, he writes, "would
be conducive to the good of the Friends; their
knowledge will increase and they will have a
place to which they can go regularly for the
study of the Faith and Its Administration."

Akka, Israel, 1961,
Hands of'the Cause <~{GodJohn Robarts, Tarazu'llah Samandari,
Enoch O/inga

The Hands of the Cquse of God for Africa William Sears,
Musa Banani, Enoch Olinga and John Robarts
Tunis, Tunisia, Ridvan 1956, First National Convention of the
Bahii'is of Northwest Africa, with Hand of the Cause of God
Musa Banani holding the Greatest Name.
Left to right, seated Lewella McKay, Enoch O!inga,
Valerie Wilson, Musa Banani, Raji'i Rafsanjani, Elsie Austin,
Johana N'gompek

I-TUNISIA
2-ALGERIA
3-MAROCCO INTL ZONE
4- MADEIRA ISLANDS
5-SPANISH MOROCCO
6- CANARY ISLANDS
7- FRENCH MOROCCO
8-SPANISH SAHARA
9-RJODIORO
JO-FRENCH WEST AFRICA
II-GAMBIA
12- CAPE VERDE ISLANDS
13- PORTUGUESE GUJA'EA
14-SIERRA LEONE
15-LIBERIA
I 6- GOLD COAST COLONY
17-ASHANTI PROTECTORATE
I 8- NORTHERN TERRITORIES
19-BRJTISH TOGOLAND
20- FRENCH TOGOLAND
21-NICERIA
22- BRITISH CAMEROONS
23- FRENCH CAMEROONS
24-SPANISH GUINEA
25-ST. THOMAS ISLAND

Region of Northwest Africa as it was in 1956 under the jurisdiction
of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Northwest Afiáica
Tunis, Tunisia, April 1956, the first National Spiritual Assembly of
Northwest Africa

Tunis, Tunisia, circa January 1958, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga, holding baby Olinga,
first Baha'i child to be named after him
Tunis, Tunisia, early 1960, Hand of the Cause of God
Enoch Olinga holding child Olinga Mustapha
The responsibilities to be fulfilled in the Faith
were manifold, and literature remained a top
priority. Mr. Olinga therefore continued writing, despite his earlier disappointment. In a letter dated May 24, 1959 to the National Spiritual
Assembly of the British Isles, the Regional
Spiritual Assembly of Northwest Africa wrote,
"When the Revered Hand of the Cause Enoch
Olinga was in Haifa in 1957 the Beloved
Guardian expressed the hope that African believers write for the Faith. The same desire of
the Beloved was expressed through Mr. 'Ali
N akhjavani. In answer to this desire, the
Revered Hand of the Cause Mr. Olinga has
provided our National Assembly with two
manuscripts for publication. The first of these
'Briefs on the Baha'i Faith' is now revised and
ready for publication."
This is how Mr. Olinga was the first African
to write for the Faith. He did everything in his
power to accomplish any and every thing the
beloved Guardian expressed a desire for.
When Mr. Olinga was appointed Hand of the
Cause of God in October 1957, he was a member of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of
Northwest Africa. There were other Hands who
had such dual responsibilities. But Mr. Olinga's
case was so different and so much more overtaxing. It was one thing to be a Hand and member of the National Institution in the United
States or in Iran or in the United Kingdom, but
to be Hand of the Cause and member of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Northwest Africa
and the lone reference in a young community in

West Africa in 1957 was a different matter altogether. Looking back to those days and what
Olinga and others like him must have gone
through in their quest to bring happiness to the
heart of their Beloved makes a shiver run down
one's back. The path they trod was tight-rope
narrow and as vexing as if it were strewn with
broken stones and glass. Olinga's case was one
that confirmed the proverb that "no prophet
finds respect amongst his people." Hand of the
Cause John Robarts, after hearing and seeing
for himself how Olinga conducted his life while
he lived in Victoria, confided to me that "he
walked in the footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Baha." This
was in Victoria in the British Cameroons in
May 1964.
When the first contingent of the Hands of the
Cause of God was appointed in December 1951,
I was a young Baha'i, amongst so many others
who had little understanding of the station of the
Hands of the Cause. We knew that they were
entitled to respect, but our young minds could
not grasp the greatness of their spiritual station.
At a time when those of us who were privileged
to grow up in Baha'i communities with Local
Assemblies and a National Assembly were just
beginning to realize the wonders of the unfolding administrative structure, these outstanding
servants of the Faith loomed out like spiritual
giants on the horizons of our youthful imaginations. In 1951 Mrs. Amelia Collins was sent by
the beloved Guardian to visit the believers in
Egypt. I was privileged to be in Cairo at the
time, and recall what a deep impression she

made on me. A few months later we heard she
was appointed Hand of the Cause of God. In
1952 Hand of the Cause Shu'a'u'llah 'Ala'f visited Cairo, and for the first time I saw a "living" Hand of the Cause. As a boy I had known
Judge 'Abdu'l-Galfl Sa 'd and as a teenager
Mul]-ammad Effendi Taqf I§fahanf; but they
were both appointed Hands of the Cause after
their passing. The deep respect the chairman
and members of the National Spiritual Assembly
in Egypt had shown General 'Ala'f during his
visit in Cairo had impressed me greatly.
Five years after my experience of seeing Hand
of the Cause 'Ala' f, we have a member of the
National Spiritual Assembly who is a Hand of
the Cause! We knew from pilgrim's notes that
the beloved Guardian considered the Hands of
the Cause as far, far above the National Assemblies, and that "the Hands of the Cause are to
be venerated." But how were we to conduct our
administration in the area where the Hand of the
Cause Olinga lived, not only as Hand of the
Cause, but also as a National Assembly member? In some mysterious way the question of
the relation between the Hands of the Cause and
the administration seemed to find its own solution.
Looking back, it is clear that we were in some
ways prepared for the new role in the Cause our
spiritual brother was to assume. When Mr.
Olinga went on pilgrimage- in February 1957
the office of Mr. Leroy Ioas, Secretary General
of the International Baha'f Council, wrote on
February 17, 1957 to the two National Spiritual

Assemblies of Northwest Africa and Central and
East Africa:

Dear Baha'i Friends:
The Beloved Guardian has been greatly
pleased with the visit of Mr. Enoch Olinga to
the Holy Land. He is the first Negro Baha'i to
visit from Africa, and the first of the Negro
Baha'is, who became Baha'is during the Ten
Year Crusade. In addition he is a Knight of
Baha'u'llah, and four of his spiritual children
are likewise Knights of Baha'u'llah. The
Guardian has thus given him the title of
"Abu'l-Futul)" which means, the Father of
Victories ....
The Guardian is greatly encouraged by the
reports he receives of the progress of the
teaching work in Africa. Under the direction
of the newly established National Assemblies,
the work is being further stimulated, which is
excellent. The Guardian would caution that the
NSA's do not become bogged down with Administrative work, but devote the major portion of their time to the teaching work, and the
steady expansion of the Faith. This is the need
of the hour-and the National and Local Assemblies should devote the major portion of
their time and energies to this noble task.

When Mr. Olinga returned from Haifa, he sent
to his fellow members "Excerpts from E. Olinga' s Pilgrim Notes ... hurriedly written in response to ... 's suggestion that I should share
with you the Guardian's wishes concerning the

Fund, the teaching work and our convention."
They included the following paragraph:

Concerning the Fund the Beloved Guardian
said: the most important work is teaching.
Money must be spent on this important work:
posting pioneers, and purchasing local Haziras.
It is not important that delegates should attend
the Convention in person. They can consult
and vote by correspondence. Also it is not necessary that all members of NSA come together.
Any money available should be spent on the
teaching work. This must be explained to the
Friends.... Any money available should be
spent on this important work-teaching. This
is important. I have, in my recent communication to the NSA of Northwest Africa, given
them this directive; being a member of NSA
yourself you will be informed of this, he said.

By the time Mr. Olinga had returned from
pilgrimage, the newly established National
Spiritual Assembly of Northwest Africa had met
in three sessions. The members were spread
over a wide area, with Olinga the most farflung compared to seven members concentrated
in the north of the region. For the fourth session, which was scheduled after his pilgrimage,
Olinga would not attend. Olinga confided to the
writer that he would not spend any more money
on travelling to Tunis, whether for a National
Spiritual Assembly meeting or the annual convention. He was unable to forget the Beloved's
advice to spend any available funds on the

teaching work. In a letter to the secretary of the
National Spiritual Assembly of Northwest
Africa dated 26th March 1957 he wrote, "Concerning the Fund, I seem to see the blessed eyes
of our Guardian as he tells me to tell the NSA to
economize and to correspond instead of meeting
in person."
Mr. Olinga consecrated his efforts to every directive of the Cause, among them the establishment of the I:Ia~fratu'l-Quds of Victoria -the
first I:fa?'.iratu'l-Quds in the Cameroons. In his
excerpts from his pilgrim's notes, Olinga had
cited what the Guardian had said to him regarding I:Ia~frat'ul-Quds: "...Haziras should be purchased-one in each of the _newly opened territories can do. For instance, one in Victoria. It
should be a simple, modest building which can
be sold any time. It need not be elaborate."
Not long after, in a circular from Hand of the
Cause for Africa Musa Bananf dated March 28,
1957, we read,

Exciting news has reached us! We are rejoicing at the tidings that the African believer,
himself a Knight of Baha'u'llah, has recently
made the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visited our Beloved Guardian. He is Enoch
Olinga, Ugandan pioneer to British Cameroons. The Guardian was so pleased with
Olinga's services that he gave him the title of
"Abu'l Futul)" which means in English,
"Father of Victories". The Beloved further
cabled me as follows:
STATUS FAITH BRITISH CAMEROONS CON-
SEQUENCE OLIN GA'S OUT ST ANDING SER-

VICES MERITS ESTABLISHMENT HAZIRA
VICTORIA.
Recent word from Olinga gives us the glad
.tidings that the I;Ia~frat'ul-Quds has been
purchased.

In other words, within forty-five days after
leaving the presence of the Guardian, Mr.
Olinga was guided to achieve one of his
Beloved's most persistent desires and bring joy
to his heart.
I mentioned earlier that Olinga had a most
beautiful and serene countenance, but in reality
serenity surrounded him; it seemed to emanate
from his inner life and to affect us all. He was a
source of appeasement for any situation that required it. In 1963 while in London for the
World Congress, I happened to be in the hotel
lounge with Olinga and many friends. A young
Ugandan Baha'f lady came over and started to
talk to him, probably in Swahili. The lady spoke
quickly and vehemently, and went on for a long
time. Olinga listened with interest. Then he said
something to her and smiled and then laughed.
The lady laughed too and went along, in my
opinion quite happy.
During the Convention for the establishment
of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha'is of West Central Africa, held in Victoria, West Cameroons, in May 1964, Hand of the
Cause John Robarts represented the Universal
House of Justice. Mr. Olinga had transferred his
residence from the Cameroons many months before, but his role in the community that Mr.
Robarts visited on behalf of the Universal House
of Justice made a connection between these two
Hands. This was just one of many ties between
the two Hands of the Cause. Mr. Robarts later
told me a story about Mr. Olinga. While the
story was told for its surprises and humour, it
nevertheless illustrates Mr. Olinga' s sincerity:
The first time Mr. Olinga arrived in Chicago,
he immediately took a taxi and asked to be taken
to the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette. ([He] had always carried a picture of the Wilmette Temple
with him and he showed it to many people, but
he had never seen it, never seen the Temple
himself.) 2 The taxi driver, noticing that the
gentleman he was transporting was a foreigner
and it being almost nighttime, expressed his
doubts that Olinga would be able to see much of
the beautiful Temple. Olinga still wanted to go
there, and all the way to the Temple the taxi
driver expressed his sorrow that Olinga would
not be able to see much of the Temple. In the
words of John Robarts, "On the way to Wilmette, the driver said to Enoch, 'You know, it's
too bad you couldn't have come just an hour
earlier, because you're going to get there at the
wrong time. It will be dark, and you won't see
that Temple. It's there all right, and there is a
moon, and you'll have a glimpse of it, but it
won't be anything like it would have been had
you just been there in the daytime.'
"'Oh,' Enoch said, 'don't worry about that. I'll
have a look at it. That's all I want. I just want to
see it, so don't worry-I'll see it.'
"They drove on, and as they neared the Temple, the driver began lamenting this thing again.

He said, 'Oh, it's too bad you aren't going to get
a good view of that beautiful Temple! It's such a
lovely place.'
"Enoch said, 'Oh yes, I'll see it. I'll see it all
right!"' The more Olinga insisted on going all
the way to the Temple, the more the taxi driver
expressed his sorrow that Olinga would not be
able to see much of the beautiful building, and
Olinga kept telling him not to worry.
When the taxi finally arrived at the Temple the
whole place was in darkness. Olinga went out of
the cab and onto the flight of steps leading up to
the entrance of the Temple. At the steps he
leaned down and put his forehead to the floor in
prayer. Suddenly the Temple lights came on, the
main entrance was opened, and the Guide in
charge that evening came out towards him and
asked him if he wished to visit the Temple.
Olinga was grateful, and they both went in. The
Guide asked him who he was. Olinga avoided
answering. But as the Guide proceeded with his
explanations and tour of the Temple, he asked
again to know who the visitor was. The Guide
insisted on knowing who he was so much that
Olinga conceded to tell him on condition that
the Guide would keep the information to himself. The Guide accepted, so Olinga told him
who he was-Enoch Olinga! The Guide jumped
up, hugged Olinga, and then dashed out and
rang the bell at the American National Spiritual
Assembly secretary's residence across the road
from the Temple to announce the august visitor's name to Charles Wolcott.

The taxi driver must have been surprised.
What exactly had happened? The Guide had just
put out all the lights for the night and was leaving the Temple grounds when he saw a cab stop
and someone come out and walk towards the
Temple. That must be someone who has come
from far, he said to himselt I should do something about it. This is why he went back in, put
all the lights on, and asked Olinga to come in.
John Robarts explains that "Enoch had just
completed a trip down through Central America
and South America, and it had been a fourmonths trip. Now at the end of his long journey
he was tired, he was all in. There had been
meetings almost every night." Mr. Olinga did
not plan any meeting in Chicago; whether this
was because of his fatigue or because of the
shortness of his stay and to avoid gathering the
friends for such a short visit we cannot know.
But what we do know is that after his visit to the
Temple, he was surprised to find that the Wolcotts had gathered a large number of friends at
the National Office. The meeting lasted until
dawn, several hours before Mr. Olinga flew
back to his home in Victoria, Cameroon. Mr.
Robarts noted that when Mr. Olinga later told
him this story he said that "that was really the
best evening" he had during his whole trip.
It was not only detachment, generosity, sincerity and serenity that distinguished Enoch
Olinga. The excerpts below from some of his
reports and letters indicate many other attributes. As early as June 1956, he included the
following in a report to the National Spiritual

Assembly from the Regional Teaching Committee for West Africa:

Any "spiritual venture" calls for Vision;
Policy; Planning and Detail. The Beloved
Guardian ever provides the Vision of the
Cause; the administrative bodies provide the
policy at their various levels; individuals and
committees carry out the planning and detail
work.
Yet it is essential that each body concerned
with the progress of the Faith should combine
all three in some measure. Without vision,
policy would be narrow; without policy, details would not be effective or even bear relationship to each other.

In the same report under a section entitled
"Policy," he stated the need "to consider at all
times that we, the Committee, are required to
give a lead, to initiate activity, to plan programmes, and not spend all our Committee time
on dealing with only those things which 'come
•
Ill. '"
Equally fascinating is his introductory statement under "Planning and Detail," which not
only stressed that the Committee must "maintain
and consolidate all existing Assemblies" and
"prepare deepening programmes to guide the
various communities along the path of local
administration, the conduct of the Feasts and
other Baha'f anniversaries and meetings," but
also emphasized two other significant duties: "to
pay a great deal of attention to social progress

and problems. If feasible, to arrange for
teaching exchanges between Assemblies and
Groups to the mutual benefit of each ... "
In July of that same year (1956) we read the
following in a commentary by Enoch Olinga
regarding the resettlement of St. Thomas Island,
which the American Africa Teaching Committee felt would be "difficult to settle by sending
an African pioneer":

St. Thomas: We read with prayerful and keen
interest the passages in the American Teaching
Committee's letter to you ... regarding the delicate situation of resettling St. Thomas Island.
We feel sure that these friends were correctly
guided in their conviction; but we would very
humbly and prayerfully comment that it may
not be so "impossible to send an African pioneer" to this territory ... On the contrary we
feel that an African would be more suited to
settle this territory than a white. It is true that
knowledge of the essentials of the Faith must
be the prerequisite of such a blest pioneer.
Most of the West African territories were
settled by very (then) immature Baha'fs and it
is a fact that they were able to draw into the
Faith such souls who arose to spread the
blessed Name of the great Faith of God, within
and without their territories. In most cases
their sacrificial efforts met with a merited success. These "immature" pioneers earned for
themselves the reward of confirmation by the
Blessed Perfection, and their spirits have fled
the fastnesses of immaturity and entered the

cities of maturity and of assurance. A condition which also applies to their "spiritual children." They pioneered to respond to the heavenly call of the Beloved Guardian. He prayed
for their meritorious achievements and success
that they may "win victories" in His Service.
This they have achieved, and his divine
promise fulfilled. May not the present situation
of St. Thomas be associated with this one? ...
The letter [from the American African
Teaching Committee] contains a very animating, most inspiring and challenging line:
"Africans go there (St. Thomas) under conditions of vital slavery .... " Yes; without this then
what is the sweetness of pioneering. Did He
not reveal that "...the companions of all who
adore Thee are the tears they shed, and the
comforters of such who seek Thee are the
groans they utter, and the food of them who
haste to meet Thee is the fragments of their
broken hearts .... Let me quaff in Thy Cause, 0
my God, whatsoever Thou didst desire, and
send down upon me in Thy love all Thou didst
• .... "
or d am
Pioneering becomes sweet when it is accompanied by difficulties, tests and trials-the gifts
from our Heavenly Ancient Beauty. In fact if
all the pioneers in Africa (or elsewhere) were
to tell the conditions under which they are
helping the power of the Spirit of Baha'u'ilan,
no pen could record them, and no mouth could
recount them. Yet, this is but not even a drop
compared to the Oceans of the tribulations He
sustained for our poor sakes l

Maybe the revered Committee will reconsider this matter very critically. There are
"impossibilities", but the less we think of them
the better, then shall we see our little faith
moving mountains.

The writer would comment that every sentence
of Mr. Olinga' s above commentary gives us an
insight into the dire experiences that that blessed
soul had gone through and was still living. One
perceives that he felt every word he wrote.
At that time-1956 and 1957-Mr. Olinga was
always planning, that is, he was all the time
making plans for the advancement of the Faith,
discussing them with other members of the
Teaching Committee for the region, and then
working hard to get the plans achieved. In a
letter dated 21st June 1957 he wrote, "If our
plan is to succeed, as we earnestly do believe it
will, the Faith of God will have taken a different but gigantic shape and form in this land. We
do, really, visualise the ultimate victory and triumph of His great Cause. We seem to see visions concerning this and your assistance will
help much."
Mr. Olinga also played major parts in carrying out the plans. In a letter dated 22nd May
1957, he made the following revelation: "Personally, the Guardian has asked me to go to
Nigeria! He had asked me to select a territory
and then inform Him. His cable to me approves
my going to Nigeria. I shall soon consult with
the NSA in detail."

towards the building of His Kingdom on earth.
What more signs of His Grace could be sought
by the sincere ones? Am I dreaming? Have I
passed on to the spiritual world, or am I the
very Olinga that walked the streets of
Kampala?
"My hands are full up, and I have become
breathless! This country, British Cameroons,
has a big spiritual destiny. Without money,
sufficient money, His name is being taken to
distant centres. He, surely, doeth what He willeth! One of the very strong Bota Baha'is, junior in his former post, has been promoted to
a higher office and transferred to M'bonge, a
very important place near. Lobe, 100 miles or
so distant, thereby opening that town to the
Faith. I had been pondering, indeed praying,
that Baha'u'llah may assist in getting us one
believer there, and during my first trip to
Lobe I devoted much time to one of the local
people without much success; but He knew
what to do! He has posted a pioneer there.
Baha'u'llah our Lord, has posted a pioneer
there. Praised be Him, the Lord of all the
Kingdoms!!
"Kumba, another very important place, has
been opened by a pioneer. Formerly a member
of the Mission and their worker, he has resigned his Mission job in order to settle in
Kumba, and already Baha'u'llah has given him
a nice job there. Should I tell you more than
this? My father, should I tell you more than
this? No, I know that you are well informed
of the mysterious hidden power i •- this Cause.

'A power far, far away from the ken of men
and angels,' that invisible power is really the
cause of these outward activities. Do other
people, too, realize it?
"We have appointed our extension teaching
committee with the function to organize and
supervise teaching in the British Cameroons
outside Victoria and Bota. As you know, this is
a very important committee indeed. It will do
much in creating new circles, which will add
more joy to the heart of our well-beloved
Guardian."

"ADD MORE JOY TO THE HEART OF OUR
WELL-BELOVED GUARDIAN," this was
Enoch Olinga' s heart's desire even at that time.
He had not met the Guardian yet, but in his
heart he had this invisible power of love for the
Guardian.
In the November 1954 circular "To All
Baha'fs in Africa, Mr. Bananf mentions the
II

activities of two of four of Olinga's spiritual
children who had opened new territories and
had become Knights of Baha'u'llah, namely
Benedict Eballa and Martin Manga.
We also read in the same bulletin, "The Victoria, British Cameroons, Assembly has a programme of extension work which includes vil:-
lages in all parts of the Cameroons." Victoria is.
where Mr. Olinga was.
In the December 1954 bulletin, we find the
British Cameroons, and the name of Enoch
Olinga mentioned again: "In the British
Cameroons, the Victoria Spiritual Assembly

has, through its Extension Teaching Committee,
assumed responsibility for the growth and development of the Faith throughout that territory .... Among the most active have been John
Bessong and, of course, pioneer Enoch Olinga."
And, "Since he last wrote in September, Enoch
Olinga, pioneer to the British Cameroons, reports there are 40 new believers in that territory, bringing the total to 99 in the country."
In the January 1955 bulletin we read that one
of Mr. Olinga's spiritual children and pioneer to
British Togoland has visited the Gold Coast for
Baha'i teaching.
The May 1955 bulletin does not speak of Mr.
Olinga, but its first page is so moving and
inspiring that it is most worthwhile to be
included here as it was circulated. It recounts
Shoghi Effendi's illuminating evaluation of the
spectacular deeds accomplished by the African
p10neers.

Dearly beloved Friends.
As the sun set on April 21st 1955 on Africa
seventy-five groups burst into Assemblies
throughout the length and breadth of this Continent and its neighbouring islands. This historic feat was made possible through the selfless efforts of the dear friends and the blessings from on . High focussed upon them
through the Centre of God's Covenant. The
beloved Guardian has been greatly pleased
with this accomplishment and he has already
expressed his joy and exultation in a supplementary message to the Conventions, as well as

in a message specially for Africa which has already been communicated to the friends in a
former circular letter from here. I am once
again quoting this latter message in these
pages, in humble thankfulness to the love of
our dearly-cherished Guardian:

"REJOICE GREATLY ADMIRE DEEPLY
GRATEFUL MAGNIFICENT ACHIEVEMENTS
VALIANT FRIENDS COLOURED WHITE PIO-
NEERS TEACHERS ADMINISTRATORS FOUR
AREAS AFRICAN CONTINENT. LOVING
FERVENT PRAYERS SURROUNDING THEM.
SHOGHI"

Our gratitude knows no bounds. Our joy is
inexpressible. Our humble efforts have been
accepted in the eyes of God's Beloved Sign on
earth.
In a recent message from the Revered Hands
of the Holy Land to me, the following
beautiful thoughts are also expressed:
"We feel sure that you are well aware of how
the work in Africa has rejoiced the heart of
the beloved Guardian, particularly the extraordinary advancement in Uganda ... It would
now appear that a firm foundation has been
laid through the formation of so many new
Assemblies throughout the continent, for the
election of the three new Regional Bodies in
1956, and the new Assembly which up to the
present represented only Egypt and the Sudan.
It would seem that, with this firm basis to
build on, truly firmly grounded Regional Assemblies can be elected to carry on the work
of the Cause in the near future ...

"The Guardian would like you in your communication to the pioneers, particularly the
African pioneers, who have left their homes
and families and shown such an exemplary
spirit, to assure them of how proud he is of
their accomplishments, their victories, and
above all, their spirit. He hopes that all over
the world the believers will follow the wonderful example set in Africa, and particularly
that the American Negro Baha'fs will be inspired to carry on much more actively their
own teaching work as a result of the example
set in Africa."
To the pioneers labouring so valiantly in
Africa and on its neighbouring islands I would
like to address this word: The beloved Guardian, dear friends, is pleased with you. He says
he is "proud" of you all. He has stated that he
"greatly admires" and is "deeply grateful" for
the work you have done and are doing. He has
praised your efforts, and above all, your
"spirit". He has set you as an example for all
the Baha'f world. Rejoice, then, in this unsurpassed blessing. Let its spiritual soothing fragrance galvanize your very beings, as to make
you forget this world of dust and its petty
worries, and enable you to scale even loftier
heights of courage, devotion and sacrifice.
As to you, dear African pioneers who have
arisen and have become the torch-bearers of
God's Light on this Continent in this day, I
wish to draw your particular attention to the
Beloved's special comments about you. Our
dear Guardian is extremely pleased with you

and your services. He has extolled your "exemplary spirit". You have become a true envy
of the non-African pioneers in Africa. Those
of you who have left your homes and your
families in the love of Baha'u'llah, rest assured
that your loving sacrifice is accepted by our
dearly-cherished Guardian. He wants the
American Negro Baha'fs now to follow your
example. The Faith of God came to you here
in Africa after it had reached them in America, but our beloved Guardian is now asking
them to be inspired by the example you are
setting.

No doubt Enoch Olinga's sacrifices contributed to the elevated spiritual status the African
pioneers attained in our beloved Guardian's
extreme pleasure, as expressed in the
commentary of Hand of the Cause Musa Bananf !
In the August 1955 bulletin we read excerpts
from a report by Board member Valerie Wilson
and excerpts from a letter by Mr. Olinga to
Hand of the Cause Musa Bananf:

As we review the deeply valued achievements
of the friends in Africa during the past year,
we note that in some territories like Uganda,
Kenya, Basutoland, British Cameroons and
Gambia* our Faith has had wider appeal,
prompter response and a greater number of
victories. I have asked therefore the relative
Board Members to send me their comments
*Emphasis as in original circular.

about the factors that have been responsible for
such developments, so that we may benefit
from each other's experiences. I will quote for
-you in this letter some of the comments of
Valerie Wilson about British Cameroons:
"Baha'u'llah blessed this area with the arrival
of pioneer Enoch Olinga. Because he radiates
love and friendliness constantly he soon wins
the confidence and respect of the people. He
relies completely upon Baha'u'llah ... His
reward is finding other pure channels like
himself, thus with divine confirmations he
confirms souls who soon become strong
supporters of the Faith in their area.
"Enoch had seen the Cause in action in
Uganda prior to dispersing to British Cameroons. He was taught by well qualified pioneers; he served on committees that systematically organized plans to spread the teachings
throughout Uganda. He developed a great appreciation of the divine institutions and the
part that each plays in promoting the Cause.
Not only does he teach the believers but he
instills in them the desire to want to become
pioneers themselves ...
"Another factor is that there seems to be a
close relationship with the NSA and the National Teaching Committee concerned, which
gives the LSA and the Extension Teaching
Committee the confidence and insight needed
for extension work. The members of this
committee devote themselves to the responsibilities of the committee. It is not just a

committee in name, it is a committee m action ...
"No statistics or report will ever truly reveal
what I saw and felt manifested in the believers
and that was real love for the Guardian ... With
this love and prayers they are ready to render
instant, exact and complete obedience for the
Cause of Baha'u'llah."
I had also asked Enoch Olinga, himself, to
send me his comments. He has sent me a most
touching letter, which, owing to lack of space,
I deeply regret I cannot quote in its entirety
for you, but here are some of its extracts:
"The progress of the Faith of God in British
Cameroons may be likened to the fire kindled
in dry grass ... The Word is the fire and the
Cameroons populace, the dry grass ...
"The Covenant is the mystery. Teach the
Faith of God without planting in the heavenly
soil of the hearts of the new believers the seed
of the tree of the love for the Covenant, i.e.
the absolute love for, submission to the will of,
and acceptance of, the Beloved Guardian, and
the knowledge that without him the Faith of
God would not have remained, and it will
never remain perfect-it were better you
never mentioned the Most Holy Name in that
place! You will judge this from the offers to
pioneer, and the signs of readiness and eagerness to teach, which these tender ones have
shown, without which the Faith of God would
not have arrested and subdued the hearts of
men here under its domain and ascendancy.
For it is true, and absolutely true, that the

Faith has spread through the selfless cooperation and devotion of most of the Cameroonian
friends themselves, who through their constancy and self-abnegation have claimed the
Ancient Beauty as their Own. And the Blessed
Perfection has promised those who faithfully
seek for His Countenance and who long to
serve Him all the blessings He can bountifully
rain upon them. He has promised this!
"Of course there are many factors which
have contributed and will continue to contribute to the spread of the Faith of God, and
its foundation to be permanently laid in British
Cameroons. Very many indeed and most of
them are hidden to our naked eyes! The
method of approach and the ability to make
and keep friends are among these.
"A lucky pilgrim one day reported the
Beloved Guardian to have said: 'The test of
teaching is the reaction of the African to us. If
the reaction is good, our method is good. If
they do not respond, our method is wrong.'
Again he added: 'We must concentrate on the
element which is the majority in each country.
We want the people to testify that the Faith has
touched the hearts of the element that is the
majority.' In other words, in Tunisia, the natives must be taught the Faith of God; in the
Gold Coast, the native Gold Coasters; in
Liberia, the Liberians; in Cameroons the native Cameroonians. This may be another mystery of success.
"Finally, it is recorded in the Holy Books that
God would give man in the days of the end a

big thirst, and the thirst would not be for water, but for the Word of God. Is this not true
with the men of today? Are these not the days
of the end? What we have to do is to offer
freely these thirsty ones the water of the
knowledge of God so that it may quench the
thirst of their yearning for and longing to
meet, God in His appointed Day."

In the April 1956 newsletter to all the Baha'is
of Africa we read,

Nigeria: ...The two valiant Cameroonian pioneers, Joseph Enongene and John Besong [sic],
have now settled in Sapele, where our beloved
Faith is spreading rapidly, and a most recent
report indicates there are now nine believers
there, ready for a new Assembly ....
British Cameroons: The teaching work is developing continuously here. Sixteen new declarations are reported. More believers have offered to pioneer.

How much Mr. Olinga contributed to the
above efforts was never and will never be
known by our mortal minds. The activities for
the Faith traced above were all carried out in
his pre-Hand of the Cause era and led up to his
visit to the Holy Shrines and to the beloved
Guardian which, as the February 17, 1957 letter
of Mr. Leroy Ioas and the circular of Mr.
Bananf dated March 28, 1957 suggest, was the
crowning event of this period of his life.

The excerpts I cite below from Mr. Olinga's
letters after this event and written in his capacity as Hand of the Cause of God show a new
confidence and an ever-growing conse.cration to
the Faith and humanity.
In a letter to the secretary of the National
Spiritual Assembly of Northwest Africa dated
February 17, 1959 he wrote, I feel the time

must come when the NSA will again take up the
matter of schools in the Cameroons. There is a
growing need for at least elementary schools for
infants, particularly in places like Mamfe where
you have so many believers. We should try to
help these souls both spiritually and materially.
The need for simple Haziras cannot be over
estimated. This letter was signed simply "In His
Love, Enoch.
A letter dated a day earlier addressed the
National Spiritual Assembly:

Dear Baha' f Friends:
I have just returned from a visit to all the
Baha'i centres in the Southern Cameroons, and
I would be grateful if you will accept the love
and greetings of all the dear ones I met during
my visit.
The way and manner in which the Faith of
God is spreading in these parts of the world is
marvellous and remarkable, thanks to His divine assistance, confirmation and guidance!
Six local centres are under construction in
Mamfe Division alone. If the NSA should
consider helping these friends financially in
their building projects, although it is not an

item in the Ten-Year Plan, I am sure it would
enhance the prestige of the Faith and help the
friends in their teaching efforts. Perhaps you
will consider this matter very carefully?
Now there are over 1,200 believers in this
territory, three-quarters of whom live in the
Mamfe Division alone. The Christian missions
are closing down in some places there due to
the fact that the inhabitants of those places
have accepted the Supreme Manifestation of
God. The Friends need a close and keen interest and cooperation of the NSA at this stage of
the development of the Cause of God in this
country.
During my visit I did appeal to the friends to
think of the Faith in terms of Its world implications, rather than local. Some of the friends,
and very very good ones indeed, offered to pioneer to places like Spanish Guinea and St.
Thomas ....
I am now planning a visit to Ghana and
Liberia and if you think there is any thing I
can do for you during the trip, please be free
to let me know it.
In the meantime please accept my love and
greetings for you all.
Yours 1n the Service of the Beloved
Guardian,
(Signed) E. Olinga
for THE HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN
AFRICA.

The subject of the Christian Missions in the
Cameroons was at the time a very serious mat-

ter. They had been operating schools. When the
families whom they were serving became Baha'i s, they closed down their schools, leaving
the people without the services they vitally
needed. Our Regional Assembly had to act
quickly and effectively, but it had neither the
material means nor the human resources. Once
more, beloved Olinga was alone to confront a
heavy challenge. He took up the challenge, and
though the missions left, the Baha'is remained
steadfast, and the Faith flourished.
For Enoch Olinga as Hand of the Cause of
God, all the problems that the National Spiritual
Assembly of Northwest Africa had were also his
problems. But these problems constituted only
part of his worries. He had to share the work
load of the whole of Africa with three other
Hands-Mr. Musa Banani, Mr. William Sears,
and Mr. John Robarts. He had to go forth onto
the international scene of the Faith. Slowly but
surely he weaned the communities around him
into self-supporting assemblies and groups and
took his flight to his worldwide work. He was
on earth with us in Northwest Africa but soared
into the new space of international service.
The events traced in the story I have just recounted indicate that in fact Olinga' s spirit had
already been in a different space for some time.
His leap up to this new spiritual level makes me
think of what I once heard our beloved
Ruq.iyyih K h anum explain and which is
recorded in The Priceless Pearl:

There is a great mystery involved in the levels of service. Shoghi Effendi always advised
the friends to pursue a moderate and wise
course, but if they did not, and chose to rise to
heights of heroism and self-sacrifice, he was
immensely proud of them. After all, there is
nothing either wise or moderate in being
martyred-yet our crowning glory as a religion is that our first Prophet was martyred
and twenty thousand people followed in His
footsteps. I have tried to understand this mystery, moderation on one side and Baha'u'llah's
words on the other': " ...then write with that
crimson ink that hath been shed in My path.
Sweeter indeed is this than all else, ... " and it
seems to me that the best example is an aeroplane: when it trundles along on the ground on
its wheels it is in the, dimension of the ground,
going along steadily on an earthly plane, but
when it soars into the air and folds its wheels
away and leaps forward at dazzling speeds, it
is in a celestial realm and the values are different. When we are on the ground we get good
sound earthly advice, but if we choose to spurn
the soil and leap into the realms of higher
service and sacrifice we do not get that kind of
advice any more, we win immortal fame and
become heroes and heroines of God's Cause. 4

Enoch Olinga took to the "celestial realm" very
quickly after he embraced the Faith of
Baha'u'llah. Today, almost thirty years since I
saw him for the last time at the World Congress
of 1963, I still review in my heart every

moment I had the privilege of his company.
Ulfet and I have never forgotten him, and if
ever we do for a few moments, our Olinga, who
is now thirty-five, married to a beautiful English
Baha'f and father of three children, never fails
to remind us of the true Olinga, who left this
world but who never leaves the hearts of all who
met him.
For his children and grandchildren, for his
relatives, for the peoples of Africa and for his
great spiritual family-Baha'fs all over the
world, this servant records his love and hope that
many will follow in his footsteps in the service of
Mighty Cause of God.

References and Notes

INTRODUCTION

1. Letter dated 4 June 1954 written on behalf of Shoghi
Effendi to the British Africa Committee, as published in
Unfolding Destiny: The Messages from the Guardian of the
Bah(i,'{Faith to the Baha'i Community of the British Isles
(London: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1981) p. 329.

2. Enoch Olinga, Letter to Hand of the Cause of God Musa
Banani quoted in the August 1955 bulletin sent by Mr.
Banani to all Baha'is in Africa.

3. The Universal House of Justice, Message of Ricjvan 121
(1964), Message to National Conventions, 1963, as
published in Wellspring of Guidance: Messages from the
Universal House of Justice 1963-1968 (Wilmette, Illinois:
Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1969) pp. 26, 5.
4. The Universal House of Justice, Message of Rigvan 152,
To the Baha'is of the World.
5. Message of Ri~van 153, To the Baha'fs of the World.

6. See page 6.

PART II

1. This refers to the fourth language Mr. Olinga spoke. The
other languages were Teso, Swahili and English.

2. In her letter to me of April 24, 1994, she explained the
circumstances of her hearing this story from Mr. Olinga: "I
had the joy and privilege of making my pilgrimage at the
same time as Olinga. For most of the time, he was the only
pilgrim in the Eastern Pilgrim House and I was the only pilgrim in the Western. He told me about this conversation the
very next day. That is why I feel that the account I give is
more accurate than the one recorded in your delightful
book."

3. The story about Mr. Olinga's visit to the Wilmette
Temple was, according to Mr. Robart's daughter Nina
Robarts Tinnian, her father's "favourite of all favourite
stories." It was a story Mr. Olinga himself told to John
Robarts. There was a great affinity between the two Hands,
and they would save up humourous stories to share with
each other whenever they met. Mrs. Robarts Tinnian was
kind enough to share with me her transcript of a
taperecording of the story as told by her father at his home
in Rawdon, Quebec, in his later years. The one or two
points from these records that I added to my own
recollections of the story are those marked by parentheses
and quotation marks.
4. The Priceless Pearl, (London: Baha'i' Publishing Trust,
1969) 127.

Index

Aatekok, 1. Ashanti Protectorate, 15-
Abaango, 1. 16, 19, 66, 67, 87.
'Abdu'l-Baha, 25, 74; Ateso language, 3. See
Divine Plan, 4; encou- also Teso.
raged spread of Faith Atesot tribe, 1. See also
in southern Africa, 2. Teso.
Abu'l-Futul:)., 23, 48, 49, Austin, Elsie, 19, 38, 64.
54, 62, 76, 78, 87. Australia, 32.
Administrative bodies, Auxiliary Board, 8.
76, 83. Bab, The, 7, 9, 20, 21,
Aeroplane image, 102. 34, 37.
Africa, conditions, 12, Baha'u'llah, 9, 13, 14,
14, 66-70; expansion 16, 17, 30, 33, 36,
of Baha'f Faith in, 2, 38, 50, 51, 62, 67,
6-9, 15, 19-20, 23-25, 68, 84, 85, 87, 89,
33-35, 69-70, 76, 78, 94, 95, 97,100; en-
84-100; future, 15; couraged followers in
historic significance, Africa, 2; statement on
15, 23; Faith introd- African race, 2, 3;
uced in at time of quotations from, 2, 3,
Baha'u'llah, 2; territor- 85, 90, 102.
ies in become indepen- Bahjf, 25, 26, 33.
dent, 67. Bahta, Gila, 52-53.
African race, Baha'u' - Bananf family, 4.
llah's statement on, 2- Bananf, Musa, Hand of
3; special capacities the Cause of God, 5,
and responsibilties of, 7, 8, 9, 23, 32, 40,
2-3, 6-8,14-15, 93-94. 49, 56, 68-69, 94,
'Ala'f, Shu'a'u'llah, 10l; circulars from,
Hand of the Cause of 78, 87-98.
God, 75. B ananf-Nakbjavanf
Algeria, 19, 66. family, 4, 32.
Amatu'l-Baha Rubfyyih Basutoland, 94.
Khan um. See Rul;tfy- Belgian Congo, 9, 10,
yih Khanum. 33.
"American Negro Benin, 67.
Baha'fs", 93, 94. Bessong, John, 91, 98.
Arabic language, 59, 60, Bomi Hills, 19.
62, 65, 67. Bota, 89-90.

Boushousha, Mustapha, Teaching for West
57, 63-64. Africa, 83, 86.
Boushousha, Ulfet, 57, Conferences, 7, 27, 32,
59~ 60-61, 64, 65-66, 33, 34, 35, 71, 72.
71-72, 103. Congo. See Belgian
Brazzaville, 10, 87. Congo and French
Britain, 34. See also Equatorial Africa.
National Spiritual As- Congresses. See World
semblies and Plans. Congress.
British Cameroons, 11- Conventions, 33, 34, 35,
13, 17-18, 23, 66, 67, 56-58, 68, 77, 79.
74, 78, 79, 82, 87, Covenant, 22, 91, 96.
88-91, 94-101. See Cuba, 33.
also Cameroon. Dalai Lama, 29-30, 33.
British Togoland, 19, 66, Deepening, 70, 83. See
67, 88, 91. also Schools.
Buapiah, Albert, 88. Difficulties, 8, 10-11, 15,
Burkina Faso, 67. See 17, 26, 28, 30-32, 34,
also Upper Volta. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
Burundi, 33. 40, 41-50, 85-86. See
Brazil, 35. also Olinga, Enoch.
Cairo, 56, 74, 75. East Africa. See Africa.
Cameroon, 11-13, 15, Eballa, Benedict, 15, 88,
19, 23, 25, 58, 61, 90.
63, 66, 67, 69, 70, Education of children,
72, 78, 79, 82, 87-90, 25, 72. See also
94-100. Schools.
Canary Islands, 19, 66. Egypt, 59, 62, 65, 68,
Cape Verde Islands, 19, 74, 75, 92.
66. Ehsani, Forough, 30-32,
Central America, 33, 34, 41, 42, 46.
82. English language, 21, 25,
Chad, 34. 29, 53n, 60, 62, 67,
Chicago, 80, 82. 70.
Christian missions, 1, 9, Enongene, Joseph, 98.
89, 100-101. Entry by troops, 2, 5-6,
Church Missionary Soc- 7, 8, 14, 15, 17-18,
iety, 1. 23, 24.
Collins, Amelia, Hand of Epyeru, Enos, 5.
the Cause of God, 71, Epyeru, Oloro, 36, 47.
74. Etesot tribe, 53. See also
Committees, 83, 84-86, Atesot tribe.
91, 95; Regional Ethiopia, 33, 52.

Family unity, 30-31. of, 32; conclaves, 25,
Father of Victories. See 26; contingent, first,
Abu'I-Futuh. 74; contingent, last,
Fiji,32. 24; for Africa, 8, 10 l;
Fort Portal, 41. of the Holy Land, 92-
Foster, Bill, 64. 94; "Negro Hands",
Frankfurt, 32, 71. 37; policy of, 32-33;
French Cameroons, 11, R. Mustapha's
13,15,19,66,67,87, experience of. 74-75.
88. See also See also personal
Cameroon. names.
French Equatorial Hazfratu'I-Quds, 40, 42,
Africa, 45,48, 77-78, 99; in
10,87. Victoria, Cameroon,
French Guinea, 34, 67, 70, 78, 79.
69. Holy Year, 12.
Frenchlanguage,67. Houseboy, 42, 44, 45.
French Morocco, 66. Iceland, 34.
See "Impossible territories",
also Morocco. 69,84-86.
French Togoland, 12, 15, India, 3, 29, 33.
19,66,87,88.See Individual, the, 83.
also Togo land. International Baha'f
French West Africa, 19, Council, 20, 75.
66. Ioas, Leroy, Hand of the
Funds, 69, 76-78, 89, Cause of God, 13, 75-
99,101. 76, 98.
Gabon, 10. Iran, 43, 73. See also
Gambia, The, 19, 25, 66,
Persia.
94.
Isfahanf, Muhammad
Giachery, Ugo, Dr.,
Effendi Taqf, Hand of
Hand of the Cause of
the Cause of God, 75.
God, 20-21, 71.
Gold Coast, 19, 66, 67, Isimai, Mr., 35-36.
Islands, 93.
88, 91, 97.
Gregory, Louis, Hand of Italy, 33, 34. See also
the Cause of God, 37. Rome.
Guinea. See French Ivory Coast, 67.
Guinea and Spanish Iyamitai, Eseza, l.
Guinea. Jamaica, 33.
Gung, Claire, 45. Japan, 34.
Hainsworth, Philip, 5. Johannesburg, 8.
Hands of the Cause of Kabali, Catherine, 43,
God, 29, 33, 70, 71, 45.
73, 92-93; biographies Kamina. IO.

Kampala, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Mauritania, 67.
8, 27, 32, 35, 37-38, Mauritius, 33.
39, 42-49, 89. Mbale, 3.
Kenya, 3, 42, 46, 94. Media, 28, 32, 47-48.
See also Nairobi. Merida, 35.
Kenyerezi, Max. 10, 87. Mexico, 35.
Khemfri, 'Abdu' 1-Hamfd, Moderation, 102.
-59, 60, 64; first • Mombasa, 42, 45.
Tunisian Baha'i, 59. Morocco, 19, 66-67, 68.
Kisumu, 46. See also French
Knights of Baha'u' llah, Morocco and Spanish
9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 23, Morocco.
49, 69, 71, 90. Morocco International
Kumba, 89. Zone, 66, 67.
Lesotho, 33. Mozambique, 33.
Liberia, 19, 25, 97, 100. Mungono, Samson, 10.
Literature, 70, 73. Music, 43, 50-51.
Lobe, 89. Musician, Divine, 51.
Local Spiritual Assem- Mustapha, Laila, 59-60.
blies, 5, 6, 7, 17, 18, Mustapha, Olinga, 64-66,
19, 23, 74, 76, 83, 102.
84, 87, 88, 90, 91, Mustapha, Rowshan, 56-
92, 95, 101. 58, 59, 62, 64, 71-72,
Localities, 6, 10, 17, 18, 74-75, 103.
20, 33, 34, 61, 82, Mustapha, Ulfet. See
89, 99. Boushousha, Ulfet.
London, 25, 29, 79. Nairobi, 27, 28, 41, 43,
Lugandalanguage,53. 45, 46.
M'bonge, 89. Nakh_javanf'Alf, 4, 5, 7,
M'rad, Mul)yf'd-Dfn, 61- 9, 10-14, 23, 46, 52,
62. 56, 57, 73.
Madeira, 19, 66. Nakh_javanffamily, 5, 10-
Mali, 67. 13, 32.
Mamfe, 72, 98, 99-100. Nakh_javani,Violette, 9,
Manga, Martin, 16, 88, 12.
90. National Spiritual Assem-
Martyrdom, 102. blies, 19, 28, 33-35,
Mashriqu'l-Adhkars, of 68, 74, 75, 83, 92,
Africa, 27, 35, 36, 38, 95, 99; African, 8, 9,
39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 19, 33, 34, 46, 53-54,
48,49, 54; of 56,58,59, 92;execu-
America, 80-82. tors of Crusade, 68; of
Materialism, 8. Britain 2, 11, 68, 73;

of Cameroon, 53-54, the Cause", 2, 37;
79, 95; of Central and Baha'f administrative
East Africa, 8, 68, 75- services of, chairman
76; of Egypt, 68, 75; at World Congress,
oflndia; 68; of North- 29, member of first
east Africa, 68; of Local Spiritual
Northwest Africa, 8, Assembly of Uganda,
9, 19, 23, 56, 58, 59, 5, member of National
62, 64, 66-71, 73, 75- Spiritual Assembly of
76, 77, 78, 82-83, 86, Northwest Africa, 9,
99-101; of Persia, 68, 19, 23, 58, 66, 69,
73; of South and West 72, 73, 74-75, mem-
Africa, 8, 68; of Ugan- ber of Teaching Comda, 35, 36, 39, 53-54; mittee for West Africa,
of United States, 68, 66, secretary of con-
73, 81; of West vention, 58; birth and
Central Africa, 79. background, l;car
New Zealand, 32. accident, 37-38;-cha-
Ngora, 1, 3. racter, 19, 20, 27-28,
Niger, 67. 29, 30, 37, 40, 49,
Nigeria, 19, 24, 28, 66, 62, 70, 71, 74, 79,
86, 98. 80-82, 85-86, 88-89,
Nineteen Day Feasts, 83. 99, audacity, 49, econ-
Njiki, Samuel, 15, 88. omizes for teaching,
Northern Territories Pro- 77-78, faithfulness,
tectorate, 16, 19, 66, 26-27, 69, 85-86, 96;
88. children, 3, 25, 27,
Okadakina, Samusan, 1, 32, 39, 47, See also
3, 6, 9. personal names;
Olinga, Badi, 38, 42, 45, communications, 35-
47, 48, 49. 36, 65-66, 72, 83-86,
Olinga, Elizabeth, 27, 29, 88-90, 96-100, from
32, 34, 38, 39, 41, the Holy Land, 15, 23,
42, 43, 45, 47-49. 24, 49-50, to the Holy
Olinga, Enoch, Hand of Land, 13-15, 16-18,
the Cause of God; 22, 24, 27, 28, with
Abu'l-Futuh, Father of Rowshan and Ulfet
Victories, 23, 54, 62, Mustapha, 65-66; con-
76, 78; address on ferences and convent-
"The Vital Process of ions attended, 27, 32-
Individual Conver- 35, 71-72, that he
sion", 27; "Africa's helped to plan, 7;
only native Hand of Covenant, comments

on, 96; Dalai Lama, spoken, 3, 60; last
visit to, 29-30; death, service, 43; laugh, 26,
feels ready to die, 41, 29, 62-64; marriages,
message from the 3, 27; moves, to
Universal House of Kampala, 3, to Nairo-
Justice on, 49-50; bi, 27-28, to Tilling,
difficulties, 27-28, 61, 28; murder, 43-45, 49,
66, 70, 71, 74, 85-86, 54-55; pilgrimage, 20-
88-89, 101; dream of 23, 26, 54, 58, 60-62,
Shoghi Effendi, 11; 75-78, 98, to the
first African Hand of House of the Bab, 34;
the Cause, 37; first pilgrim's notes, 76-78;
African to write for the pioneering in West
Faith, 73; first Baha'f Africa, 8, 9, 12, 13.
of Teso tribe, 4; first See also Cameroon
child of Rowshan and and Olinga, Enoch,
Ulfet Mustapha named successes; "preeminent •
after, 64-65; first hears member his race", 49;
about Faith, 3-4; first protects Cause in
letter to Shoghi Effen- Uganda, 36; public
di, 16-18; "first Negro speaking, 25, 28;
Baha'f to visit [the publishes "Briefs on
Holy Land] from Afri- the Baha'f Faith", 73;
ca", 76; "first of the separated from family,
Negro Baha'fs, who 23, 71; Shoghi Effenbecame Baha'fs during di's conversation with,
the Ten Year Crus- 22, 54, 60; spiritual
ade", 76; friendship children of, 15-16, 23,
with 'Alf Nakbjavanf, 69, 71, 76, 90, 91.
4, 23; friendship with See also Knights of
John Robarts, 79-82, Baha'u'llah; and
80n; funeral, 44, 46- Pioneers; spiritual
49; embraces Faith, 5; influence, 55, 94-95,
grave, 47, 49; Hand of 102; story of boa, 64;
the Cause of God, story of guitar, 50;
appointed as, 9, 24, studies Arabic, 59-60;
32,65,73;~aifr~u•~ successes, 13, 23, 24,
Quds, services related 30, 51, 87-91; "third
to, 70, 78-79, 99; Ugandan to accept
Knight of Baha'u'llah, Baha'u'llah", 4;
9, 23, 54, 76, 78; translator, 3; travels,
knowledge, 5, 16, 36, 20-23, 24, 25, 28, 29,
84-86; languages 32-35, in Asia, 3;

across Africa to the 30, 32, 45, 59, 67,
Cameroons, 9-12; 68, 69, 85; African, 9-
Tunisia, stays at the 10, 13-17, 71, 78, 84-
Mustaphas, 58-64; 85, 87-96, 98; Exam-
Uganda, focuses on, ple of for believers "all
35-45; "Ugandan over the world", 92-
pioneer", 78; writing, 93; money to be used
3, 70, 73; work, 3-4; for, 77.
youthfulness, as Hand Planning, 2, 7, 83, 86,
of the Cause, 25-26, at 95.
time of death, 54-55. Plans, 2, 4, 34; British
Olinga, Eunice, 5, 23, Two-Year, 2, 11; Di-
27. vine, See 'Abdu'l-
Olinga, Florence, 47. Baha; Ten Year, See
Olinga, George, 25, 30- World Crusade.
32, 37,41,42,45,46 Portuguese Guinea, 19,
47, 54. 66.
Olinga, Godwin, 42, 47. Portuguese language, 67.
Olinga, Grace, 47. Poverty of the the
Olinga, Lennie, 27, 42, Baha'is, 70, 89, 99.
44, 45, 47, 48, 49. Prayer, 4, 10, 11, 13,
Olinga, Patrick, 38, 42, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20,
47. 21, 22, 24, 28, 31,
Olinga, Tahirih, 27, 38, 38, 40, 45, 48, 49,
41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 81, 84, 85, 92, 96.
48, 49. Prestige of the Faith,
Olinga, Ugandan name, 100.
53, 65. Priceless Pearl, The, 101-
Oule, Kolonario, 36, 42, 102.
43, 45, 46. Principe Islands, 69.
Pakistan, 3, 32. Principles, "the Faith
Palermo, 33. comes first", 32; obed-
Persia, 2, 4, 34, 68. See ience to government,
also Iran. 36.
Persian language, 25, 60, Properties, Baha'i, 19,
67. 36, 39, 40. See also
Pilgrim's notes, 75, 76- I:Iaifratu'1-Quds and
78, 97. Mashriqu'l-Adhkars.
Pilgrimage, 4-5, 20-23, Regional Spiritual As-
54. semblies, See National
Pioneering, 84-85. Spiritual Assemblies.
Pioneers, 2, 4, 5-7, 8, Rhodesia, 33.
10, 12, 14, 20, 24, Rio de Oro, 19, 66, 67,

69. in Africa, 93, inaugur-
Robarts, John, Hand of ates spiritual conquest
the Cause of God, 24, of Africa, 2, notes im-
74, 79-82, 101. portance of Africa and
Rome, 20. Uganda, 6; Bananfs
Ruhfyyih Khan um, visit Shrines with, 4-5;
Amatu'l-Baha (Mmy communications, 6, 7,
Maxwell, Hand of the 8, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20,
Cause of God) 1, 27, 23, 24, 62, 75-78, 86,
101-102. 87, 91-94, 98; com-
Sa'd, 'Abdu'l-Galfl, munications to, 11-12,
Hand of the Cause of 16-18, 24; conversa-
God, 75. tion with Enoch, 22,
Sabfran family, 58. 54, 60; death, 24, 71;
Sabfran, Mr., 59. encourages Enoch, 13,
Sacrifice, 11, 12, 14, 17, 22; Enoch's understan-
23, 31-32, 84, 93, 94, ding of station of, 14-
96-97, 101, 102. 15, 16-18, 22, 23, 24,
Samandari, Ursula, 54, 69, 73, 74, 78, 83-85,
60. 90, 96; funeral, 25;
Samoa, 32. pilgrim's note concern-
Sapele, 98. ing evaluation of teach-
Scandinavia, 34. ing methods, 97; pilg-
Schools, 72, 99-100. rim's note concerning
Sears, William, Hand of elucidation of station
the Cause of God, 24, of Hands of the Cause,
101. 75; pilgrim's notes
Senegal, 67. concerning, Enoch's,
Senoga, Edith, 45. 76-78; prayers 10, 15,
Service, levels of, 102. 16, 21, 85, 92.
Shfraz, 34. Sicily, 33.
Shoghi Effendi, 6, 7, 21, Sierra Leone, 19, 25, 34,
79, 95, 96, 98; advice, 67.
that Assemblies give Singapore, 32, 34.
priority to teaching, Solomon Islands, 34.
76; Africa, African South America, 34, 82.
teaching brought joy South Central Africa, 33.
to, 2, 6-8, 13, 15, 23, Spanish Guinea, 19, 58,
74, 76, 91-94, his 67, 69, 100.
hope that Africans will Spanish language, 67.
write for the Faith, 72, Spanish Morocco, 19,
his hope that believers 67.
will follow example set Spanish Sahara, 19, 67,

69. 19, 56, 68.
St. Thomas Island, 19, Tunisia, 19, 57, 66, 67,
67, 69, 84-86, 100. 97.
Sudan, 2, 33, 92. Uganda, 3, 4, 6, 8, 23,
Swahili language, 43, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36,
53n, 60, 79. 37, 39, 48, 53, 65,
Swaziland, 33. 71, 88, 92, 95;ban-
Tabe, Edward, 15, 88. ning of Faith in, 35,
Tangier, 66. 39; civil war, 37, 38;
Tanyi, David, 12, 15, 87. first Local Spiritual
Teaching, 13, 83-84; Assembly of, 5. See
funds to be used for, also Kampala.
77-78; meeting for Uganda Administrative
during time Guardian Committee, 36, 39,
visited Shrine, 4-5; 40, 41, 42, 46, 47.
methods of, 95-98; United States, 34, 37,
priority to be given by 68, 73, 80-82.
Assemblies, 76-78; Universal House of
successes in Africa, 2, Justice, 28, 36, 39,
6, 13, 15, 20, 69, 92, 40, 46, 49-50.
preeminent, 6; See also Upper Volta, 35. See also
Entry by troops; Olin- Burkina Faso.
ga, Enoch, successes; Upper West Africa, 34.
and Victories. Victoria, Cameroon, 12,
Temples. See Mashriqu'l- 13, 14, 18, 24, 70,
Adhkars. 74, 78-79, 82, 87, 88,
Teso, 1, 3, 5, 7, 28, 32, 90-91.
37, 42, 43, 45, 47. Victories, 16, 18, 23, 78-
Tesolanguage,53n,60. 93, 94.
See also Ateso. Vuyiya, Peter, 43-44, 46.
Teso tribe, 4, 5, 8. See Wilmette, 80-82.
also Ateso. Wilson, Valerie, 64, 69,
Tilling, 28, 30, 36, 37, 94-96.
38; historic signifi- Wolcott, Charles, 81-82.
cance, 1-2, 3-5. World Congress, 29, 79,
Togoland. See British 102.
Togoland and French World Crusade, 2-3, 13,
Togoland. 18, 23, 27, 29, 32,
Topremang, 88. 68-69, 76-87 .
Tunis 2, 19, 20, 56-58 Za"ire,10, 33. See also
59, 61, 63, 77, 94, Belgian Congo.
95; seat of Regional Zimbabwe. See
Spiritual Assembly, 8, Rhqdesia.

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