 Early in his reign, the new king began to crack down on Christian missionaries and converts in his country, and executed the British Anglican bishop James Hannington and his companions on October 29, 1885, ignoring Balikuddembe's pleas to spare the bishop.Godfrey Muwonge attributes this to the influence of Mwanga's Katikkiro (Prime Minister) Mukasa, who sought to control the spread of Christianity in Buganda by eliminating its teachers.Another reason that Mwanga killed Balikuddembe was because he spoke out against Mwanga's homosexual practices.