A 37-year-old Christian convert in eastern Uganda was killed by members of his own family on Friday 18 July after they forced their way into his home and found him praying in the name of Jesus, according to local sources.
Kasajja Abdul Maliki of Kaliro village, Kaliro District, had locked himself in his house during Friday mosque service to pray and study the Bible, a practice he had maintained since his conversion to Christianity in April.
His niece, Shamina, told Morning Star News that on the day of the attack, relatives heard Maliki praying loudly inside the house “in the name of Issa [Jesus], petitioning Issa to save the family members”.
“I then alerted the family members about Maliki’s strange way of praying, who hurriedly went to his house,” said Shamina, daughter of Maliki’s older brother Lubega Kalimu. “They found the house locked as Maliki was still praying. They pushed the door very hard and got inside and found Maliki still praying with the Bible placed beside him.”
According to Shamina, the relatives then “picked up the Bible and tore it to pieces”. She described how “as we were inside the house, other members of the family arrived and were so angry and started shouting the Islamic slogan ‘Allah Akbar’ [God is greater] and began striking Maliki with kicks and blows”.
“Soon more members of the family arrived with knives and sticks led by my father, Kalimu, and Sempa Arafat,” she said.
Maliki screamed for help as the violence escalated. However, Shamina claims her father showed no mercy towards Maliki and “with a sharp knife pierced him through his chest”.
Neighbours arrived but were unable to save him. One said, “We tried to rescue Maliki, but it was too late to save his life, and he died on his way to a nearby clinic.”
Maliki came to faith during an evangelistic event held from 9 to 12 April in Kaliro town. A local pastor, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said, “After the campaign I took him to my house and discipled him in Christian teachings for a week, and thereafter he returned back to his home.”
Since converting, Maliki had attended evening Bible study meetings twice a month on Fridays and monthly welding training sessions organised by the church. The pastor added, “Since his conversion in April, Maliki had gained enough skills in welding, and we as a church were planning to start for him a small business in Kaliro town.”
Family members had grown suspicious after noticing Maliki’s absence from mosque prayers. A week before his death, a Muslim neighbour informed relatives that he had seen Maliki leaving a church compound.
While Uganda’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, including the right to convert and propagate one’s faith, converts from Islam, particularly in eastern Uganda, face serious threats. Muslims account for roughly 12 per cent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in the east.
Maliki’s killing adds to a growing number of documented attacks against Christian converts in Uganda in recent years.
At the time Morning Star News broke the story of the killing, no arrests had been made.
