The disturbing treatment of Salimati Naibira by her husband illustrates yet again how conversion to Christianity is so often the occasion for persecution of Christians — both of the converts and of those who brought the converts the word of the Gospel. Making matter even worse is the fact that Salimati Naibira can likely expect little help from authorities in this matter, as they are likely to be either sympathetic to the attackers, or afraid of incurring their wrath themselves.
Among the Christians of Uganda are around 35,000 Orthodox Christians. Please pray for perseverance and strength of faith for them and all of Uganda’s Christians.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of Christian persecution in Uganda, see here.
“Mother of Seven Wounded, Loses Family for Becoming Christian,” Morning Star News, April 13, 2021:
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – A mother of seven children in eastern Uganda suffered serious wounds and is cut off from her family after her husband and other Muslim relatives attacked her on Easter Sunday for putting her faith in Christ, sources said.
Salimati Naibira, 37, of Bukoba B village, Mayuge District, lost consciousness after her husband cut her with a dagger known as a Somali sword in the thigh and back on April 4 as she attended a worship service for the first time in the area, she said. She had converted from Islam to Christianity three days prior.
Naibira said she was on her way to the church service when she met her brother-in-law, Ahirafu Kowa, who asked her where she was going. He likely became suspicious after she told him she was going to visit a friend, she said.
One hour into the worship service, Naibira said, she saw through a window that her husband and other relatives were approaching.
“I saw my husband, Ayubu Kairu, and some family members enter the church gate shouting ‘Allah Akbar [jihadist slogan ‘God is greater’],’” Naibira told Morning Star News. “The church members took off from church worship to save their lives.”
The Muslim relatives entered the church building with sticks and the Somali sword. Naibira said the pastor and some church elders tried to protect her but were overpowered, and the assailants forced her into a van and drove her to a nearby forest.
“They started beating me with sticks, then my husband cut me with the Somali sword at the thigh and the back,” she said. “I regained consciousness only after several hours.”
A passing herdsman found her lying in a pool of blood at about 3 p.m., and he and others took the still unconscious Naibira to a clinic in nearby Kityerera town.
On April 5 hospital staff members managed to make contact with a Christian friend of Naibira, and on April 8 she picked her up from the hospital. At this writing Naibira was at an undisclosed location recovering from wounds on her face, thigh and back….
