Muslims in Uganda Burn Home where boys threatened with violence took refuge

Muslims in Uganda Burn Home where boys threatened with violence took refuge

Separately, 27 Christians injured in attack on food project

By Dani Miskell, Special to ASSIST News Service

KOBOLWA VILLAGE, UGANDA (ANS – November 11, 2016) – On Sunday, October 30th, Muslims invaded the home of 41-year-old Stephen Mungazi in the Kobolwa village in the Kibuku District of eastern Uganda.

They were looking for two young refugee boys, whose names will remain anonymous for security reasons, for running away from home after being exposed by their parents for converting to Christianity.

The boys sought refuge with Mungazi and his family, who were a Christian household, after their parents had questioned and threatened to kill them for their conversion. Mungazi had been receiving threatening messages from the boys’ parents, but admits he didn’t take it seriously at the time.

“I started receiving threatening messages in my phone accusing me of converting the boys to Christianity, as well as housing them in my house without the parent’s permissions,” he said.

Mungazi had been sheltering the boys for seven months until their home was gutted and burned by sharia (Islamic Law) vigilantes. The boys’ father, whose name will also be withheld, organized the mob to punish them for apostasy. Mungazi and his family fled to their area church away from the enraged mob and reported the attack to the pastor, who then informed Morning Star News.

“The life of my family is at stake,” Mungazi told the pastor. “Where am I going to take them? I have lost everything that was in that house.”

Mungazi gives an account of what happened in the attack.

“At around 6pm, I saw a group of people moving towards my house and immediately recalled the warning, and I signaled my family to take refuge,” he said. “As the attackers drew nearer, I noticed some of the people wore Islamic attire. There and then I also ran for my life. After 20 minutes, we saw fire coming out of my homestead. I then knew that the Muslims had burned my house.”

The church sent an elder of theirs to assess the extent of the damage from the fire. The loss was too enormous and Mungazi and the boys have since sought shelter elsewhere.

The elder had discovered a leaflet left behind from the boys’ father and his mob. The leaflet read, “Be informed that we are not yet finished with you. Expect more, worse things are on the way.”

Food Project Attacked

Earlier in the month, another attack in eastern Uganda was reported on a rice plantation project in the Muslim Nalidi village, Pallisa District. A mob of armed jihadists injured 27 Christians who were involved in the outreach in an effort to stop them from converting more Muslims to Christianity.

The attack took place on October 6th, around 10:30am, and was led by an imam identified as Akiimu. The Christians had begun harvesting rice to feed the village when their attackers descended upon them with long metal knives used for cutting firewood, severely injuring 16 out of the 27. They suffered deep cuts on their heads, faces and hands, as well as back injuries.

One survivor, Kirya Mbulambago, described the attack to Morning Star News, “The Muslims beat us using clubs, sticks and metal objects, and several of us were injured.”

One survivor was John Supete who recalled the Muslims shouting in Arabic, “We are fighting for the cause of Allah.”

Police arrived at the site and arrested several Muslims. A case has been opened against them (Reference No. SD/4/8/10/2016) at the Pallisa Police Station. They admitted the wounded victims to Butebo health center.

The rice plantation project was started in March 2016, as a joint effort by churches of three different denominations, to help the community through periods of food shortages. Proceeds from the project went to help pay for school fees for needy families.

Over the course of six months, 21 Muslims had converted to Christianity, which put a target on the backs of the churches heading the revival. Muslims started issuing threats to the Christians and one leaflet warning read, “We have discovered your hidden agenda, and be warned that soon you will reap what you have sown in changing our members to Christianity.”

According to sources, Mosque leaders have announced that those who converted will be treated harshly as taught in the Koran.

For more information, please visit http://morningstarnews.org/.

Photo captions: 1) Ugandan Christians protesting persecution. 2) A Panga knife, similar to one used in the attack. 3) Wound sustained by John Supete after attack in eastern Uganda. (Morning Star News). 4) Dani Miskell.

About the writer: Dani Miskell has her BA in Journalism and double minor in Music & Religion from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. She is a former music blog writer and on-camera hostess, and recently has moved her efforts as a media correspondent towards the nonprofit sector where she produces videos about Fair Trade awareness. She is an avid freelance writer in Los Angeles, volunteering to do PR for local events and outreaches as well as enjoying writing recreationally through her writers’ club. She is an aspiring humanitarian through journalism, and her passion for religious freedoms and rights has brought her to join as a staff writer for the ASSIST News Service once again. Her e-mail is: danielle.miskell@gmail.com .

** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). Please tell your friends that they can receive a complimentary subscription to our news service by going to the ANS website (see above) and signing up there.