Salimati Naibira after April 4, 2021 attack in eastern Uganda. (Morning Star News)
By Aaron Sseruyigo & News Agencies
A 37-year-old mother of seven in Bukoba B village, Mayuge district in the Eastern region of Uganda lost consciousness after her Muslim husband attacked her during a Church service, and cut her with a dagger for leaving Islam to follow Christ.
Salimati Naibira told a USA-based Christian persecution watchdog that during a prayer service on 4 April, 2021, she was shocked to see her husband and other relatives approaching her Church with sticks and a dagger (majorly known as a Somali sword).
“I saw my husband, Ayubu Kairu, and some family members enter the church gate shouting ‘Allah Akbar [jihadist slogan ‘God is greater’],’” Naibira told Morning Star News (MSN).
Naibira who had days earlier secretly became born-again after hearing the Gospel, said the pastor and some church elders tried to protect her but were overpowered, and the assailants forced her into a van and drove her to a nearby forest.
“They started beating me with sticks, then my husband cut me with the dagger at the thigh and the back,” she said. “I regained consciousness only after several hours.”
A passing herdsman found her lying in a pool of blood at about 3 p.m., and he and others took the still unconscious Naibira to a clinic in nearby Kityerera town.
On April 5 hospital staff members managed to make contact with a Christian friend of Naibira, and on April 8 she picked her up from the hospital. At this writing, MSN said Naibira was at an undisclosed location recovering from wounds on her face, thigh and back.
Naibira told the media outlet she does not see how she can gain custody of her children, who range in age from 4 to 17 years old. She said she cannot return home.
“I hope my children are safe,” she said.
Naibira’s salvation story
According to MSN, Naibira had on April 1, 2021 been visiting the friend’s workplace in Kaluuba town, telling her how doctors had not been able to give her any relief from heavy menstrual bleeding for four years, she said. A Christian evangelist arrived, told her about Christ and asked if he could pray for them, Naibira said.
“I shared with him the fear which had tormented me of the flow of blood that had troubled me for four years,” she said. “He said that Jesus is a healer, and that with Him all things are possible. As he prayed for me, I felt something like an electric power touched my body.”
The evangelist also prayed for the needs of her friend, unidentified for security reasons. Hearing that God’s love was revealed in Christ’s sacrifice for sins, Naibira received Him as Lord and Savior, she said. The evangelist told her to visit any nearby church for fellowship and to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, April 4.
“Before leaving my friend, I was full of joy,” Naibira said. “At night I got a dream of watching a film of Jesus crucified on the cross.”
She awoke with a feeling of excitement, and the issue of blood had stopped, she said.
