Islamic extremists attacked a man from Maumo village in the Luuka District of Uganda on July 26.
Forty-two-year-old Musa John Kasadah, a father of six, converted to Christianity in an outdoor service on June 17. His wife and children also converted in the ceremony, and the family began attending church.
After the third week of neglecting to turn up for his former mosque’s Friday prayers, Kasadah’s brother sent Musa’s new pastor a message. “It has come to our attention that Musa Kasadah and the family are attending your church. This should stop immediately. Otherwise, your church is at risk,” the message read.
The pastor took the threat seriously and arranged for the family to seek refuge with a local official. On July 26, the family’s whereabouts were discovered. Musa and his family were already traveling on a sugarcane plantation road en route to a new safehouse when Muslims showed up at the official’s home to question the homeowner.
However, four extremists caught up to Musa and his family and forced them to stop. According to Musa’s wife, Asiya Naigaga, the attackers announced, “You thought we should not get hold of you? We have been tracking you from the house of (the local official) to here, and today is your last day to be alive. Allah has given you into our hands.”
“They started beating my husband and then got hold of me and tied me up. They forced me to sing Christian songs as they began chopping off my husband’s hand,” Asiya stated.
Asiya recognized two of the attackers. She identified Ndiwo Huraira as the man beating her husband with a long stick, while Kasimo Magulu cut off Musa’s hand with a Somali sword.
The family was saved by a group of sugarcane workers who happened to be passing by in a truck. As the assailants fled, the workers wrapped Musa’s arm, untied Asiya, and quickly brought them to a nearby clinic. As Musa received first aid, Ayisa called a local official who arranged for an ambulance to take Musa to Mbale Referral Hospital.
As of the writing of this article, no charges have been filed.
Uganda is a majority Christian country. Statistics show that the Muslim population has remained around 14 percent over the last decade. Attacks on Christians have increased in the past few years. In a 2018 article, the Associated Press declared that Uganda’s Christians faced Muslim persecution at “record levels.” According to World Watch Monitor, a group that tracks Christian persecution, Ugandan Christians face the “most serious dangers in the world.”
“Muslims are 25 percent of the total population and not 13.7 percent,” said Hajj Mutumba, former Uganda Muslim Supreme Council spokesman. “We have two to four wives, and we are producing about six children in the space of two to three years,” he added. Mutumba, believed to be in his late 60s, passed away earlier this month.
