Two pastors were hospitalized for injuries after a group of extremists reportedly beat them, accusing them of blasphemy and of converting people to Christianity.
John Michael Okoel, pastor of New Life Church in Pallisa, and Abraham Omoding, the assistant pastor, were attacked Jan. 30 as they went home from an all-night prayer meeting, Morning Star News reported.
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The incident reportedly occurred at Osupa Swamp along Pallisa-Mbale Highway. The masked assailants wore Islamic attire and accused the pastors of blaspheming Islam and trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, Okoel told Morning Star News. The attackers threatened to kill them.
Beaten, left unconscious
Okoel was beaten, cut, slapped and left unconscious. The beating left Omoding with a fracture, back injury and missing teeth, Okoel said.
The assailants fled when an approaching vehicle flashed its lights. Okoel told Morning Star that the occupants of the vehicle took the pastors to a clinic, from which they were later transferred to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
Approximately 12% of Uganda’s population is Muslim. Uganda’s constitution and laws allow for freedom of religion, including converting from one faith to another. However, Christian churches increasingly have received threats of violence, and some Christian converts have been attacked, killed or excommunicated by Muslim family members, the World Atlas reported.
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