RLPB 719. Uganda: Convert Burned; Impunity Must End

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 719 | 15 Nov 2023
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UGANDA: CONVERT BURNED; IMPUNITY MUST END
By Elizabeth Kendal

Marked in red: Bukaka town, located in
central Eastern Region (orange).
(click on map to enlarge)
map source: worldometer

Hajara Namwase (32) of Kenkebu village, Budaka town, is a recent convert to Christianity. On 17 October, Hajara attended a small group prayer and Bible study gathering in the confidence that her Muslim husband, Musa Kalele (42), was away conducting business in neighbouring South Sudan. However, when Hajara returned home, she was shocked to find her husband had already returned. Horrified to see his wife with a New Testament and other Gospel literature, Musa flew into a rage. Aflame with Islamic indignation, Musa grabbed Hajara, wrapped her in a sheet, dragged her outside, dowsed her in gasoline, and set her alight. After all, the penalty for apostasy (leaving Islam) is death. [See: Islam Q&A (https://islamqa.info/en) – ‘Apostasy in Islam’.]

Doubtless Musa viewed his act as an honour killing through which he would rid himself, his family, and Islam of the shame of his wife’s apostasy. However, the couple have three children – aged 4, 6 and 9 years – and a daughter who witnessed the horrendous crime called out to neighbours who rescued the young mother and raced her to Mbale hospital. Suffering third-degree burns to much of her body, Hajara has since been transferred to a hospital in the capital, Kampala, where she is receiving specialised treatment. Meanwhile, her husband has fled to South Sudan and her children are residing with his mother (their paternal grandmother). [For full details see Morning Star News, 8 Nov 2023.]

This shocking crime presents Uganda with a critical test, on many levels. Article 2 of Uganda’s Constitution (1995) establishes: ‘(1) This Constitution is the supreme law of Uganda and shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout Uganda. (2) If any other law or any custom is inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail, and that other law or custom shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.’ Following that, Article 29 guarantees, ‘Protection of freedom of conscience, expression, movement, religion, assembly and association.’ That said, it must be noted, that in many Muslim-dominated areas, secularism and religious freedom exist more in theory than in practice. Emboldened by persistent impunity (a consequence of systemic corruption, patronage and complacency) Muslims are growing more assertive. Persecution is escalating precisely because radicalised Muslims are applying Islamic laws and customs without consequence. The impunity must end!

Musa Kalele must be arrested in South Sudan and extradited to stand trial in Uganda for the torture and attempted murder of his wife. Hajara Namwase must retain custody of her children, along with parental rights to make decisions concerning their welfare, regardless of how eager her Muslim relatives might be to see her children given into the custody of Muslims, as is mandated by Islam.


PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR GRACIOUS GOD WILL:

* mercifully bless Hajara Namwase with radical healing, not only of her burned body, but also of her traumatised soul. May the Lord protect her from any infection and may the doctors be awed by her recovery. May Hajara find comfort in the powerful presence of her Good Shepherd, loving Saviour, Heavenly Father. May the Lord provide her with the best medical care and legal counsel so she might live and be reunited with her three now traumatised children. Lord have mercy!

* intervene to protect the church in Kenkebu (Hajara’s home village) which could be targeted by angry Islamists now that Hajara’s conversion is no longer secret. This could especially be the case if Musa is arrested and Hajara retains custody of their children, all contrary to Islamic law and custom. Lord have mercy!

* mercifully redeem this horrendous suffering: may many Muslims find their conscience awakened and their hearts softened, such that they will turn away from intolerant Islam towards the light and life and love of Jesus Christ. We pray this especially for Hajara’s family: her parents, her in-laws, and especially her children. Lord of amazing grace, ‘in wrath remember mercy’ (Habakkuk 3:2).

* intervene in Uganda to bring an end to the systemic corruption, patronage and impunity that is threatening the state’s religious harmony and cohesion.


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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UGANDA: CONVERT BURNED; IMPUNITY MUST END

Emboldened by impunity, Uganda’s radicalised Muslims are becoming increasingly assertive. Hajara Namwase (32), from Kenkebu village, Budaka, Eastern Uganda, is a recent Christian convert. On 17 October, when her Muslim husband Musa Kalele (42) discovered her conversion, he dowsed her in gasoline and set her alight. One of the couple’s three young children witnessed the crime and called to neighbours who rescued the young mother and raced her to Mbale hospital. Suffering third degree burns to much of her body, Hajara has since been transferred for specialised treatment in Kampala. Her husband has fled to South Sudan, and her children are with their paternal grandmother. If Hajara is to live and be reunited with her children then she will need ‘God’s gracious favour’ in answer to ‘the prayers of many’. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 718. Burkina Faso: Life Under Siege

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 718 | 8 Nov 2023
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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BURKINA FASO: LIFE UNDER SIEGE
Extended RLPB -- we must not forget our brothers and sisters in Burkina Faso
By Elizabeth Kendal

BACKGROUND: The population of Burkina Faso is 63.8 percent Muslim (mostly Sunni) and 26.3 percent Christian (mostly Roman Catholic); Indigenous beliefs are widespread. The country – which is officially secular – has a long history of religious freedom and peaceful coexistence. Christians live predominantly in the centre of the country, around the capital Ouagadougou. Islam dominates throughout the rural periphery, particularly in west, north and east. Terrorism spilled from Mali into northern Burkina Faso in 2015. After taking hold in the north, terrorist groups spread into the east. Today some 40 percent of Burkina Faso is controlled by Islamic terror groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Located on the central plateau, the capital Ouagadougou is gradually being encircled, its critical transit routes imperilled and cut, putting ‘Burkina Faso more than ever at the brink of collapse’ (ADF, 10 Oct).’ 

‘Extremists Threaten to Encircle Burkina Faso’s Capital’
Africa Defense Forum (ADF) (10 Oct 2023).
click on map to enlarge

LIFE UNDER SIEGE

On 2 November, Amnesty International published a report entitled, ‘Death was slowly creeping on us: Living under siege in Burkina Faso.’ The data is shocking. ‘As of July 2023, at least 46 locations in Burkina Faso are under a form of siege by armed groups.’ To establish sieges, terrorists blow-up roads and bridges and destroy telecommunications infrastructure. They also establish checkpoints where civilians – including aid workers – are routinely killed. As of June 2023, some 6,100 schools were closed or rendered non-operational’ – this includes 88 percent of schools in Sahel Region (far north), impacting 127,000 children; and 61 percent of all schools in Est Region (far east), impacting 182,000 students. Further to this, ‘373 health centres were closed across the country due to the conflict’, again, mostly in the north and east. The terrorists also destroy water infrastructure, such as wells and pipelines, and then ration the water. Civilians trying to flee the sieges are killed; women and girls are routinely abducted and abused; while farmers are prohibited from accessing their farmlands. Extortion (‘tax’, in the form of cash and livestock) is rife. Starvation and malnutrition are widespread.

Despite being 68 pages long, the Amnesty report avoids the issue of religion and makes no mention of the religious persecution of besieged minority Christians. Thanks almost exclusively to Catholic media, RLPB has long been able to shine a light on this horrendous situation (e.g. RLPB 656, Terrorism Generates Christian Crisis, 3 Aug 2022).

Fr. Pierre Rouamba from Fada N´Gourma.
ACN 22 Aug 2023

On 22 August 2023, Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) published an interview with Fr Pierre Rouamba, the prior-general of Missionary Brothers of the Countryside (FMC). He told ACN, ‘I spent Easter in Kompienga [a besieged province in Est region, mentioned in the Amnesty report]…in a very special atmosphere, because this place is isolated from the rest of the world, cut off by mines and checkpoints, which are manned by terrorists. We can only get in by helicopter. Around Pentecost 2023 the terrorists began to target the local population. Many people were killed or seriously injured and had to be air-lifted out. The terrorists have also seized livestock and are doing everything they can to get the population to either convert [to Islam] or evacuate. If people refuse to convert to Islam they are forced to leave, but as the roads are blocked, they are left to wander around in the forest with no possessions, and many die due to lack of food and care.’

Fr Pierre Rouamba told ACN that women are abducted, raped and ‘held as sex-slaves’, only allowed to return home when they are pregnant. He laments the destruction of the once rich social fabric and wonders how Muslim-Christian reconciliation could ever be achieved. ‘Many people have seen their loved ones’ throats slit, beheaded, raped, or be reduced to sexual slavery. Children have been born because of these rapes. When all this is over how will we be able to have a discourse that is consistent with the Gospel? We will have to heal all these wounds, whether physical or psychological. The pastoral work promises to be immense.’

However, Fr Rouamba notes, ‘While the terrorists prevent Christians from gathering in churches, families get together in their homes to rekindle the flame of faith through catechism classes and joint celebrations when there are no priests… In Kompienga, under fire from terrorists, requests for baptism are pouring in, and catechism classes are continuing.’ He explains that the mission’s aim ‘is to bring everything back to Jesus Christ himself – joys or sorrows – to bring them back to the Redeemer in thanksgiving, despite the difficulties, which are numerous at the moment. We want to be a sign of Christian hope in the midst of desolation. We are accompanied by Christ, because He Himself went through the suffering that we are going through. For the Christians we accompany, the time perspective does not go beyond the next 24 hours. We do not know if we will survive beyond the next day. This forces us to deepen our personal relationship with Him.’

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL:

* protect and sustain Christians living in territories under the control of Islamic terror groups; may the Lord supply their every need, for food and water, fellowship, security and rescue; may the devil have no victory over them; may their faith and love only grow and deepen. May the ‘Father of mercies and God of all comfort’ (2 Corinthians 1:3) hear his children's ‘pleas for mercy … Oh, save your people… Be their shepherd and carry them forever’ (Psalm 28:6,9).

* protect and sustain the courageous priests, nuns, pastors and other religious workers and Christian leaders who risk their lives to care for believers struggling to survive inside besieged territories. May the Lord, our rock, be their strength and shield (Psalm 28:1,7).

‘But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head’ (Psalm 3:3 ESV).

* intervene in righteousness, justice, compassion and power to liberate Burkina Faso – and Mali and the wider Sahel – from the grip of Islamic terrorists (Psalm 28:4-5).   


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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BURKINA FASO: LIFE UNDER SIEGE

Some 40 percent of Burkina Faso is controlled by Islamic terrorist. Some 6,100 schools and 373 health clinics are closed, mostly in the north and east. Forty-six localities are besieged; conditions are intolerable. Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently interviewed Fr Pierre Rouamba after he visited, by helicopter, the besieged province of Kompienga, in Est (east) Region. He told ACN that after Pentecost 2023 the terrorists started attacking the local population; many have been killed and wounded. Christians are being pressured to convert to Islam; many have died attempting to flee. Women are routinely abducted and held as sex-slaves until they are pregnant. Water is rationed, food is scarce, and churches are closed. Despite this, ‘requests for baptisms are pouring in, and catechism classes are continuing’. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com