Two Christians in eastern Uganda were hospitalised after hardline Muslims beat them for their presentation at a religious dialogue, one of the victims said.
Musa Kirongosa, 32, [see photo] and Swidiki Buyinza, 27, of an undisclosed church in Nawaikoke, Kaliro District, were the first to speak at the Christian-Muslim dialogue organised by Muslims on November 13 in Bulumba town. Using both the Bible and the Quran, they argued that Muhammad was a false prophet, with Kirongosa asserting: “Truth is only found in Christ Jesus as the one and the only Saviour for mankind.”
Angry Muslims in attendance grew rowdy before the two Christians had finished, forcing them to flee and go into hiding at the nearby home of a Christian, Buyinza said. Some of the Muslims rushed ahead to block the road leading out of the area, and about two hours later, at about 7pm, when the area was vacated and quiet, the two Christians thought it was safe to leave.
“When we left around 7:30 on our motorcycle, just a few kilometers along the Nawaikoke-Bulumba road, we were stopped by Buruhan Musobya, a well-known Muslim extremist, and six other Muslims,” Buyinza told Morning Star News. “They began shouting, ‘Allah Akbar [God is Greater], these are the enemies of our prophet, Muhammad, as well as our religion. Kafir [Infidels]! Kafir!”
The assailants broke their motorcycle to pieces and tore up their Bibles and other Christian literature, he said.
“Thereafter, they started beating us badly with blunt objects that led to the fracturing of Musa’s right leg,” Buyinza told Morning Star News. “Two of the attackers held me tightly and beat me with sticks as four others were beating Musa and stepping on him while he was lying down in the middle of the road.”
A taxi arrived and flashed its headlights, and the attackers fled, he said. The taxi stopped, and passengers got out, including a pastor from Kaliro town who recognized Kirongosa and took the two Christians to a hospital there.
Buyinza said he was discharged after spending one night in the hospital but that Kirongosa received treatment there for five days.
“One of the sheikhs secretly visited us in the hospital and said that he has been a seeker of Christianity and plans to join the Christian faith after listening to the dialogue where things went wild,” Buyinza said. “Please pray for the sheikh’s salvation and these radical Muslims, as well as the provision of the medical bill. Though we were beaten, we know all things work together for good to those who love Jesus.”
Their church was preparing to file a case against Musobya and the other assailants, he said.
The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.
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 percent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.
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