Pastor, a family burned alive in an Islamist attack

Mother of three children beaten and burned with acid for converting to Christianity

By News from the Morning Stars, Saturday, October 26, 2024

NAIROBI, Kenya – Islamist villagers in eastern Uganda burned a pastor and his family after he led three Muslims to faith in Christ, the pastor’s brother said.

Pastor Weere Mukisa, his 25-year-old wife Annet Namugaya and their two daughters, Judith Banirye, 7, and Sylvia Bamukisa, 4, died when attackers set fire to their home just before 3 a.m. on October 13, said the church leader’s brother, James Tusubira. Pastor Mukisa was 30 years old.

The tragic attack took place in Kibale village in Mpumiro parish in Bulange sub-county in Namutumba district. Pastor Mukisa led Muslims to Christ in September.

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“When the three young Muslims converted to Christ, my brother started receiving messages threatening him that he should stop all contact with the three young converts and that the act committed was against the teaching of Islam about not joining the religion of infidels,” Tusubira said. News from the Morning Stars.

Tusubira said he saw flames and smoke coming from the family’s home at 2:48 a.m

“We rushed to the scene and found the house had been set on fire and five bodies had been burnt beyond recognition,” he said. “By dawn, many people started arriving. Plastic bottles of gasoline were found in front of the house.”

Tusubira said the attackers were from a neighboring village and were known to the pastor.

The murder was reported to the Kibale police. Tusubira said officers were searching for the suspects who fled.

He added that the villagers were very shocked and terrified by this gruesome attack.

“Please pray for us so that these radical Muslims who destroyed my brother and my entire family can be held accountable,” Tusubira said.

Mother burned by acid

In Nankoma, Bugiri District, a mother of three was beaten and burned with acid by her Muslim husband after he found out that she had put her trust in Christ.

She said Hidaaya Nabafa, 27, was in hospital suffering from severe burns following the attack by 42-year-old Juma Nsibambi.

Nabafa received Christ in August in a church in the village of Nankoma, which was not disclosed for security reasons. Keeping her faith a secret, she went to a church service on October 9 while her husband was in Kampala.

“When I came back at 4 p.m., I found my husband at home and he asked me where I was; I was silent for a while,” Nabafa told Morning Star News while lying in a hospital bed. “I finally decided to tell him the truth, that I had given my life to Jesus.”

She said she had Christian tracts on the life of Christ.

“After hearing my testimony, he got angry, hit me and started beating me,” Nabafa said. “I tried to call for help, but it was all in vain.”

Nsibambi left for a while, leaving her on the ground, and when he returned, he poured battery acid on her, she added.

“I lost consciousness and ended up in a hospital bed,” said the mother of three children aged 7, 5 and 2.

Neighbors arrived and took her to a hospital in Bugiri, where she was to continue treatment for several more weeks due to the severity of her burns. She is expected to need reconstructive surgery on some parts of her body severely damaged by the acid.

These attacks were the latest of many cases of persecution of Christians in Uganda documented by Morning Star News.

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

Originally published at News from the Morning Stars