by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Christianity is legal in Uganda, but believers who left Islam for Christ are increasingly vulnerable to extreme violence by radicalized Muslim relatives and neighbors. In the latest incident of such brutality, a formerly Muslim couple in eastern Uganda were hacked to death on Feb. 2, just weeks after putting their faith in Christ, Morning Star News reported.
The parents of four young children, Twaha Namwoyo, 38, and Nadiimu Katooko, 27, were murdered outside their home in Bulalaka village, Saala Parish, Kibuku Sub-County, Kibuku District, MSN reports.
“I heard people talking and conversing loudly in Arabic and the Lugwere language, saying that Twaha is to reap the fruits of leaving Islam,” a neighbor told Morning Star News on condition of anonymity. “After a few minutes, I heard loud wailing coming out of Twaha’s house…We kept awake the whole night in great fear. But thank God the attackers did not come to our house.”
The mutilated bodies of Twaha and Nadiimu were found outside by officers from the Kibuku central police station, MSN reports. The couple’s children – ages 7, 5, 3, and 2 – were locked inside the house. The police also found Somali swords, knives, and an ax left at the scene.
Twaha and Nadiimu had converted at a Christian center in Nampido village, a friend who led them to Christ told MSN. “After visiting and praying with the family of Namwoyo for about six months, later my labor in Christ became a turning point for them to receive Jesus Christ on Dec. 5, 2023,” the friend said. “I continued discipling them in the Christian doctrines, but cautioned them to remain secret in their new-founded Christian faith.”