Father Beaten and Loses Family, Home for Becoming Christian

Muslim relatives attacked him after learning of his new faith.

Tambuze Marijani of Nangi village, Mayuge District, sustained a broken leg below the knee and other injuries requiring nearly two weeks of hospital treatment when Muslim relatives beat him on Jan. 4.

On Dec. 31, Marijani attended a New Year’s Eve church service in Bugweri District, and as the new year began, he and 14 others put their faith in Christ, the church pastor said.

Upon returning home, he said Marijani had joyfully told his wife about his conversion.

She left the following morning, Jan. 2, and returned on Jan. 3 with an Islamic divorce letter, he said.

“Because you joined a bad religion,” she told him, “you are now an apostate, an infidel, and not part of the family; also, you cease to be me, a member of the Muslim community.”

“That night, my wife refused me entry to our bedroom,” he said. “I slept in the sitting room.”

On Jan. 4, while Marijani was working at his farm, he saw his older brother and other relatives arrive at his house at about 1:30 p.m., prompting him to leave the fields and return home.

He said his older brother began insulting him, telling him he was a disgrace to the family.

“My younger brother got hold of me, and there and then, they began beating me with sticks,” Larijani said. “I screamed and shouted for help, and neighbors arrived and rescued me.”

He said they rushed him to a clinic in Bwonda, and he was later transferred to Mayuge District Hospital. He received treatment for the broken leg, injuries to his back, and chest pains before he was discharged on Jan. 16.

His house was rendered uninhabitable, and Muslim relatives have taken his former wife and four children, ages 12, 10, 8, and 7, he said.

“I do not know how I can survive without a family and being homeless,” Marijani said.

Still fearing for his life as he continues to recover, he has gone into hiding. The church paid his medical bills, but he lacks money and doubts that he will be allowed to return to his land. Missing his children, he said he prayed he would see them again and that God would help him find a place to stay.