One building is destroyed in an attack in Uganda, and two Christians are hurt.
NAIROBI, Kenya, December 4, 2022 (Morning Star News) –On November 20, Muslim extremists in eastern Uganda set fire to a home where a cell fellowship was gathering, a week after Muslims in another region caned two converts, according to sources.
In Busembatia town, Bugweri District (formerly in Iganga District), on November 13, Arafah Senyange, 28, and his brother Zulufa Hajati Nakimuli, 43, were struck with a cane for converting to Christianity in October, according to Nakimuli.
After returning from a Sunday service in Busembatia, the two brothers were studying the Bible under a mango tree outside their father’s house when one of their brothers, mosque head Hamuza Lubega, arrived yelling the jihadist slogan, “Allah Akbar [God is greater],” he added.
Lubega seized their Bible and began tearing its pages, then called their brothers Shafiki Kato and Ahmad Sewanyana, Nakimuli said.
“We were accused of bringing an unholy, corrupted book into the home of a Muslim family and following Issa [Jesus] as the Son of God, which is blasphemy in Islam,” Nakimuli told Morning Star News. “Shafiki was sent to get some more family members with cane to use on us. As they arrived, they started beating us with it.”
Nakimuli, a father of four children ages 10, 15, 18 and 22, sustained wounds throughout his body, especially on the shoulder, arms, knees, back and face. Senyange was left with deep cuts on his mouth, hands and head. Senyange’s wife, fearing trouble from her Muslim in-laws, took their three children ages 2, 3 and 7, immediately after the attack and went to live with her Muslim relatives.
A group of Christians including the pastor of another church passed by in a truck after attending a gathering to mourn the death of a Christian mother in another village, and the Muslim assailants paused, Nakimuli said. The attackers told the travelers to leave them alone, “as they were disciplining their family members who had left their family religion of Allah,” Nakimuli said, but the Christians were able to rescue the two brothers.
They took the injured Christians to a private clinic belonging to another pastor, where they received treatment, he said.
Nakimuli put his faith in Christ on Oct. 11 after a pastor had visited with him for six months, and Nakimuli led his brother to Christ on Oct. 23, he said.
HOME BURNED
In Luuka Town Council West Ward, Luuka District, also in eastern Uganda, Muslim extremists on Nov. 20 burned down a house where a cell fellowship of 23 people met, said the group’s leader, Nicholas Mugume.
In early November two prominent Muslim families put their faith in Christ as the result of an outreach by the fellowship members, angering area Muslims, he said.
In addition to making noise, the Muslims have accused us of attempting to convert them to Christianity, according to Mugume.
Four Muslims were sent by a local mosque leader to their home at 3 p.m. when his wife was making supper there, where the cell group previously had gathered for worship, he claimed.
“They poured gasoline into the charcoal burner after a violent argument, complaints, and claims that we were converting Muslims, and immediately fire spread and caught the entire house as the assailants fled,” Mugume told Morning Star News.
He claimed that one of the attackers warned them, saying, “This is simply a warning to you that we are going to return if you continue leading our people to your faith, and awful things will happen to you.”
The entire house was turned to ashes, according to the father of three children who are 8, 11, and 16. A public address system, a motorcycle, a bicycle, and other things were also damaged.
He claimed that the family is in need of assistance and has temporarily found shelter in a rented home in another town.
According to Morning Star News, the attacks were the latest of numerous cases of persecution of Christians in Uganda.
Religious freedom in Uganda is protected by the constitution and other legislation, including the ability to practice one’s religion openly and to convert to another. Only 12% of Uganda’s population identify as Muslims, with concentrations in the east of the country.
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