Evangelists attacked in Uganda after leading Muslims to Christ

NAIROBI, Kenya —Two evangelists in eastern Uganda were beaten and slashed with knives after leading several Muslims to Christ, sources said.

Earlier this month, Robert Okia, a 43-year-old father of six children, and Wilberforce Mulenga, a father of two, shared the gospel in a predominantly Muslim Busakira village in eastern Uganda, where eight Muslims put their faith in Christ, Mulenga said.

He said they continued their outreach in Ikule village, Mayuge District, where they were attacked on Oct. 7.

“We were beaten because of taking the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the purely Muslim community of Ikule village,” Mulenga, 38, told Morning Star News. “We didn’t know that Muslims in this place had heard about our successful mission in Busakira village.”

After visiting two homes in Ikule, Muslims surrounded them at the second house and began asking questions about Islam that they could not answer.

“One shouted the Islamic slogan of ‘Allah Akbar [God is greater]’ three times, and everyone began to get hold of sticks and started beating us badly,” he said.

Mulenga sustained a knife wound on his head and bruises on his legs, dislocating his right knee when one of the assailants knocked him down, an area source said. At this writing, he received treatment at a private clinic in Kampala.

Okia sustained a knife wound on his knee, rib, and hand injuries, swelling on his mouth and face, and body pain throughout, the source said. Okia was referred to a hospital in Jinja for more specialized treatment.

“After beating us, they carried and threw us near the swamp that separates Busakira and Kigandaalo, where a herdsman saw both of us bleeding and screaming for help,” Mulenga told Morning Star News. “The man rushed and called local authorities, who took us to a nearby clinic for treatment.”

The two identified some of the attackers and reported the assault to local authorities; he said they plan to file a police report when they leave hospital treatment.

“We need your prayers all the time because when we recover, we must continue with the message no matter the persecution we have gone through,” Mulenga said.

The evangelists were sent to preach Christ by a church, undisclosed for security reasons, in Mayuge Town Council.

The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

Uganda’s Constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one’s faith and convert from one religion to another. However, Muslims make up no more than 12% of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.

Morning Star News originally published this article.