A 37-year-old father of four was killed on Jan. 2 after participating in a Christian-Muslim debate in eastern Uganda at which 13 Muslims put their faith in Christ, Morning Star News reported.
Ahamada Mafabi was reportedly returning from the debate in Nakaloke, Sironko District outside Mbale when men on two motorcycles shouting the jihadist slogan, “Allah Akbar [God is greater],” knocked him off his motorcycle and sliced his neck with a knife.
The man’s pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons, reported that Muslims “responded openly to receiving Christ” during the public debate that took place before the attack.
There also were shouts from other Muslims “demanding that Mafabi leave the grounds of the meeting, saying, ‘Mafabi, stop your blasphemous utterance of equating Issa [Jesus] to God, calling him the Son of God,’” the pastor said.
Mafabi is survived by his wife and four children, ages 3 to 14 years old. He had left Islam to put his faith in Christ in December 2020 after several visits with the pastor in an undisclosed village in Butaleja District.
Ready to face persecution
The pastor has reported the crime, and police are investigating. “I have some fears, but this is part of the spiritual warfare that comes with Christian persecution, and I am ready to face it,” he said.
Uganda’s constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one’s faith and convert from one faith to another.
Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
