Islamist threats compelled Sharifa Kasozi Nakamate to flee her native home in Kirinda, Masajja division, Wakiso district, in central Uganda. (Courtesy Photo)
By Male Marvin & News Agencies
A hard-line Muslim group in Wakiso gave a 49-year-old widow one day to abandon her Christian faith and return to Islam or face the wrath of being “an apostate.”
The unpleasant warning came weeks after the widow, Sharifa Kasozi Nakamate, of Kirinda in Wakiso District had lost her husband on June 15 at age 65.
I began receiving threatening text messages from the clan leader, she told a Christian Persecution Watchdog, Morning Star News, in a report released July 18, 2019.
Surprisingly, among the Islamic extremists who gave the widow the ultimatum was her son, Alamanzan Basudde, she said.
Nakamate secretly put her faith in Christ in October 2018, according to Morning Star News. Her husband was Christian in name only, neither worshipping with other secret Christians nor attending mosque prayers, sources said.
When he died, area Muslims refused to bury him on grounds that he habitually ate pork and drank alcohol in public, Nakamate said.
“I decided to run to the church, and the pastor came and buried my husband,” said Nakamate.
The Muslim community’s response to the burial came as a surprise, the mother of two daughters said.
“It is now clear to the clan that you and your deceased husband abandoned Islam, since Hajji was buried by Christians,” clan leader Musa Hamisi told her in one text message on July 11, demanding that she returns to Islam or leave her homestead.
Nakamate has since relocated to another area, where the church she attended rented a place for her to live and conduct a small business.
The church, unidentified for security reasons by the persecution watchdog, reported the threat to the local council of Kirinda.
“I have lost everything that I did in developing the homestead for more than 30 years of our married life, only to lose everything just like that because of following Jesus,” Nakamate said.
The church is also concerned for the fellowship’s security. A member received an anonymous text message that read, “Please let Nakamate return to her religion to avoid any negative repercussion of your church.”
The pastor said the church is uncertain what to do next.
“We need prayers as we continue discipling Nakamate to be rooted in the Christian faith,” he told Morning Star News.
Nakamate said she fears Muslims will discover her new living quarters.
“Two days ago a Muslim from my home village came and bought items from me,” she said. “I am afraid that she will go back and spread news of my new place of residence. This new place is not safe for me.”
Morning Star News contributed to this report.
