A grandmother and two children were reportedly slaughtered in Uganda on Christmas day, further exposing the horrific persecution raging throughout the world.
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Edrine Ngwabize, 75, and her two grandchildren, 13-year-old Mathias Byamukama and 5-year-old Emoni Niwalindwa, were killed inside the family’s home in Nyabitutsi, Uganda, when Islamic extremists reportedly broke in on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.
Wilson Byaruhanga, the elderly victim’s son, told Morning Star News about the purported assault — a traumatic event that claimed the life not only of his mother but also one of his children.
“The attackers were shouting the Muslim slogan, ‘Allah Akbar [God is greater], and saying, ‘We have to teach these infidels a lesson during this Christmas celebration,'” he said.
Byaruhanga said he saw extremists torch a pastor’s farm not far from his mother’s home on Christmas. After seeing this, he planned to run to his mother and the children to warn them.
But the unthinkable had likely already unfolded.
“I found the Muslim terrorists were already at my mother’s house, and there was a loud bang [from gunshot] and sound from the iron sheet roof, which was so frightening,” Byaruhanga said. “I turned back quickly to check on my sick wife and moved her farther away but did not know the whereabouts of my mother and the two children.”
He went to get help from authorities who stopped the terrorists, but soon learned he lost his loved ones. The horrendous event is the latest in the slew of anti-Christian attacks in Uganda.
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the slaughter came just one week after 10 people were killed in the same area, with Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels suspected of committing the atrocities.
“The ADF is an Islamist terrorist group affiliated with the Islamic State that has long threatened Christians and heavily Christian communities in Uganda and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). International Christian Concern (ICC) listed the ADF as one of the worst terrorist groups in its 2023 Persecutors of the Year report,” ICC reported.
The previous deadly event that claimed 10 lives unfolded in the Kamwenge district of Uganda on Dec. 18
Other recent stories show the depths of the persecution problem in Uganda. As CBN Digital previously reported, a Ugandan teenager was reportedly locked up for months by his own family members after converting to Christianity.
The 17-year-old was found in a “dilapidated state,” according to a pastor who reportedly discovered the teen’s horrific detention during a Sept. 15 visit to the home. Read more about the story here.
Last June, 37 students at the Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School were reportedly murdered June 16, with assailants burning and hacking victims with machetes.
The primarily Christian student body at the Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School was reportedly singing Gospel songs before the deadly attack at the hands of suspected Islamic State militants with ADF), according to the BBC.
And in December 2022, Pastor Frank Mutabaazi was almost entirely blinded in Kampala, Uganda, after Muslim extremists reportedly sprayed him with acid. The horrific attack has also left the preacher struggling to eat and speak.
Despite being a majority Christian country, Uganda has internal problems with Islamic extremism, with its presence “growing steadily” and severe persecution unfolding in pockets of the nation. This is particularly true for people who convert away from Islam, according to Voice of the Martyrs.
While 84% of Ugandans are Christian, the aforementioned stories are not uncommon.
“Christian converts from Islam face pressure from family members and harassment in Muslim communities,” Voice of the Martyrs explained. “Several young people who converted to Christianity have been severely beaten and injured by parents or community members. Pastors and churches have been attacked, and some converts have been killed after their faith became known.”
Some local areas restrict Christianity even further, with church land being taken or with regulations intended to try and stop Christianity’s spread. And some families who leave Islam see their children no longer welcomed to local schools. Read more about that here.
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