PRAY: Ex-Muslim Couple in Uganda Reportedly Murdered After Converting to Christianity

Ex-Muslims in Uganda were murdered Feb. 2, just two months after becoming Christians.

Twaha Namwoyo, 38, and Nadiimu Katooko, 27, were a husband and wife and the parents of four children in the Ugandan village of Bulalaka.

Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start”

The pair, who had 7-, 5-, 3-, and 2-year-old kids, were slain outside their home earlier this month, according to Morning Star News.

At least one source recounted the tragic killing to the outlet, which monitors Christian persecution across the globe. One neighbor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, recounted overhearing the assailants on the night of the slaying admitting the killing centered on the couple’s conversion to Christianity.

“I heard people talking and conversing loudly in Arabic and the Lugwere language, saying that Twaha is to reap the fruits of leaving Islam,” the individual said. “After a few minutes, I heard loud wailing coming out of Twaha’s house.”

That neighbor, as a Christian, said he feared the murderers would descend upon his home as well, so he locked the doors.

“Thank God the attackers did not come to our house,” he told Morning Star News.

According to the neighbor, authorities found weapons at the scene, including an axe, swords, and knives. He believes these were left to warn other Christians about what they, too, might face for their beliefs.

Twaha and Nadiimu reportedly converted to Christianity in December, according to a friend who spent six months visiting and praying with them until they came to faith Dec. 5, 2023.

“I continued discipling them in the Christian doctrines,” he told Morning Star News. “But cautioned them to remain secret in their new-founded Christian faith.”

Other recent stories show the depths of the persecution problem in Uganda. As CBN News previously reported, a grandmother and two children were reportedly slaughtered in Uganda on Christmas day.

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.

In another act of horror, a Ugandan teenager was reportedly locked up for months by his own family members last year 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 year, 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.

Then, 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.