In Eastern Uganda, a 38-year-old Christian mother of three, fled her home in Namutumba district after her relatives attacked her with a blunt object and forced her to drink poison for leaving her family religion, Islam.
Habiiba Namuwaya, a resident of Namakoko village, Nangonde Sub-County, put her faith in Christ on Feb. 24 after receiving healing from aggressive breast cancer when her pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons, prayed for her.
“I openly shared my new life in Christ with friends on WhatsApp, which landed me in trouble,” she said in a report published 2 July, 2021 by US-based International Christian persecution watchdog Morning Star News (MSN).
Habiiba’s father, identified as Al-Hajji Mansuru Kiita, and her other relatives arrived at her pastor’s home on the morning of June 2 and, “started beating and torturing me with a blunt object, inflicting bruises on my back, chest and legs, and finally forced me to drink poison, which I tried to resist but swallowed a little of it,” Namuwaya was quoted as saying.
When neighbours arrived in response to her plea for help, the Islamic extremists hurried away, leaving behind a letter denouncing her and the pastor, she said.
The pastor was not around when the attackers arrived, but a neighbor telephoned him, and revealed the tragedy.
Namuwaya told MSN: “He feared to come immediately, but later came and found me fighting for my life. I was rushed to the nearby clinic for first aid, and later I was taken to another place for treatment and prayers.”
The Christian Post, a conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper based in Washington, D.C, took interest in Habiiba’s story, reporting that she has found shelter at an undisclosed site but has not filed a police complaint, fearing retaliation from her relatives, including the possibility that they might file a false case against her or the church.
Besides the anguish of being separated from her children, ages 5, 7 and 12, who are with their father, Namuwaya needs further specialized treatment. “I am restless with continuous pain in my stomach,” she said.
The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project shows that about 11.5% of Uganda’s population is Muslim. Muslims in Uganda are primarily Sunni. The murder of and attacks on converts are not uncommon in the region.
“Radical Islam’s influence has grown steadily, and many Christians within the majority-Muslim border regions are facing severe persecution, especially those who convert from Islam,” a Voice of the Martyrs factsheet explains.
“Despite the risks, evangelical churches in Uganda have responded by reaching out to their neighbors; many churches are training leaders how to share the Gospel with Muslims and care for those who are persecuted after they become Christians.”
News Agencies contributed to this report.
