COURTESY PHOTO/Roberto Maldeno.
Two evangelists have been beaten unconscious after refusing to renounce Jesus Christ, whom we were preaching recently at Naigombwa trading center located in Iganga District, Eastern Uganda.
According to the official statement by International Christian persecution watchdog Morning Star News (MSN), the two evangelists, Samuel Mukiibi, 27, and 25-year-old Ephraim Duula were attacked on May 16 near Naigombwa swamp close to Bukwanga village, Iganga Sub-County in Iganga District.
The attack is said to have been orchestrate by Muslim extremists who were grieved over the evangelists’ gospel missions which led to the salvation of several residents in the area.
Iganga District has the highest proportion of Muslims in Uganda, according to the International Religious Freedom Report 2009.
After an evangelistic outreach in the Nambale area on May 13-16, they left at about 4 p.m. after open-air preaching and were approaching Naigombwa swamp when three Muslims blocked the road. This is according to evangelist Samuel Mukiibi who spoke to MSN as he continues receiving medical treatment together with his counterpart.
Evangelist Samuel Mukiibi, attacked along with Ephraim Duula on May 16 in Iganga District, Uganda. (Morning Star News)
“They stopped us and asked us to renounce Jesus Christ, whom we were preaching at Naigombwa trading center for four days,” Mukiibi stated. “At the same time, they wanted to forcefully circumcise us as per Islamic teaching for us to live. We totally refused, and they started beating us badly with sharp objects and left us unconscious in a coma in a pool of blood.”
Mukiibi added: “My colleague, Duula, suffered serious bleeding coming out of his ears, bruised face and a deep cut in his left hand, while myself I had a twisted neck, swollen face and neck.”
MSN reports that the assailants took the evangelists’ Bibles and gospel tracts.
The two preachers regained consciousness in a hospital in Iganga, where they learned that motorcycle riders led by a man identified only as Dauson rescued them. Dauson said he knew their pastor, said MSN.
“We found the two evangelists bleeding seriously, picked up Mukiibi’s phone and rung the pastor who came to the hospital immediately,” Dauson told media.
