Christian persecution in Uganda is generally not the government and law enforcement action we see in other countries. Instead, converts to Christianity are often targeted and harassed. They have lost their families, as in this case and in other instances also; they have lost their property, some have been killed outright, and at times mobs have incited the police to act against the Christians. All this happens despite the fact that they make up around 85% of Uganda’s population (there is a tiny minority of around 35,000 Orthodox Christians in that nation). The Order continues to pray for peace and safety for the Orthodox Christians and all Christians of Uganda.
For previous coverage of Christian persecution in Uganda, see here.
“Christian in Uganda Loses Children, Mother and Stepfather to Islamist Attack, Sources Say,” Morning Star News, October 2, 2019:
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – A 36-year-old Christian near Kampala, Uganda is mourning the deaths of his son, daughter, mother and stepfather, who were killed when Muslim extremists set their house ablaze seven weeks ago, sources said.
Before the radical Muslims set Ali Nakabale’s house on fire on Aug. 20 in Nakaseke, Nakaseke District about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Kampala, his wife and other area Muslims had become enraged that he and his mother had converted from Islam to Christianity, Nakabale said. He and his 56-year-old mother, Nankya Hamidah, had put their faith in Christ at an open-air evangelistic event in August 2018.
“I had just visited my aunt only to receive sad news of the burning of our house,” the distraught Nakabale told Morning Star News by phone. “Upon arriving home, I found the house destroyed by fire that burned my four family members, including my two children. On reaching the mortuary, I found their bodies burned beyond recognition.”
Killed along with Hamidah were Joseph Masembe, who had also left Islam to follow Christ and had married Hamidah in November 2018 after her husband’s death earlier that year; Nakabale’s 9-year-old daughter, Afsa Lawada; and his 6-year-old son, Yakubu Njabuga.
A neighbor told Morning Star News that he and others became aware of the fire at 1 a.m. on Aug. 20.
“We saw fire emanating from the house of Hamidah with loud chants from Muslims saying, ‘Allah Akbar [God is greater],’” said the neighbor on condition of anonymity. “Arriving at the scene of the incident, we found that the house had been razed down, killing the four family members.”
Nakabale said that the mosque leader of the Kyanja area of Nakaseke had written a letter to his stepfather, Masembe, stating, “It has come to our attention that since you got married to Hamidah, you have not been attending the mosque.”
“At this, then I realized that the Muslims were monitoring our movements,” Nakabale told Morning Star News….
