The News of Martyrdom

Christians Persecuted and Martyred for their faith has been on the rise. The latest is Pastor Isima Kimbugwe of Uganda on June 30th 2021. His body was burned beyond recognition after the assailants set his home on fire in Buseta village, Kibuku District, Uganda at about 10:30 p.m., local Christians said.

The Cause

Leaving Islam to become a Christian in 2017, Pastor Kimbugwe had fled the village after area Muslims upset with him leading five Muslims to faith in Christ threatened to kill him, the sources said. He worked for a Christian organization in Kampala until the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a loss of donor support that caused it to shut down, leading him to his return to his home village.

The Incident

“Immediately after arriving at his house, Muslims sent a young boy aged 14 who was a student at an Islamic school at Kibuku,” said a source who requested anonymity. “He greeted the pastor in the Islamic way, ‘Asalamu Asalamu Alaikum [Peace be unto you, in Arabic].’ The pastor refused to answer but instead replied that Jesus loves you. The boy spat saliva on the ground and uttered the Islamic [jihadist] slogan, ‘Allahu Akbar [Allah is Greater]’ and ran away.’”

At about 9 p.m. the pastor had supper with his brother, Geoffrey Kadogo, at his house, then returned to his home about 200 meters away.

“Upon arriving, he heard some footsteps outside and became fearful, and there and then he made a phone call telling me of his fears,” Kadogo said. “By 10:30 we saw flames of fire and smoke from his house. Arriving at the scene, the house was completely burnt up, and nearby was a small steel jerrycan, a cap and Quranic notes. The notes read, ‘Your enmity to Islam is what you have ripe,’” an idiom meaning he had provided a valid reason for them setting him and his house on fire according to Islam.

Your enmity to Islam is what you have ripe

Killers of Pastor Kimbugwe

The local Muslims had warned the pastor several times to stop sharing the gospel, but he continued to lead Muslims to faith in Christ, Kadogo said.

“This led to this atrocious act,” he told Morning Star News.

The Investigation

Officers of the Kituti police station arrived at the site that night, and the next morning police from headquarters in Kibuku came and took the pastor’s body to a mortuary.

Pastor Kimbugwe’s remains were buried in a funeral service on Thursday (July 1) attended by 20 people, the maximum allowed under COVID-19 protocol.

He is survived by his wife and two children, ages 10 and 17. When Pastor Kimbugwe fled to Kampala, his family members, who had also become Christians, went to live with relatives in another district.

Police investigations have turned up three suspects in the killing.

The assault was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

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 per cent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.

Let us uphold the Family and the assembly of Pastor Isima Kimbugwe in our daily prayers. Christians are persecuted and many more will be persecuted. We need to be standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters worldwide.

Evil Islamic Texts that promotes such Murders for Leaving Islam

They wish you would disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so you may all be alike. So do not take them as allies unless they emigrate in the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and do not take any of them as allies or helpers,¹

Quran 4:89

Narrated `Ikrima:`Ali burnt some people and this news reached Ibn `Abbas, who said, “Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Don’t punish (anybody) with Allah’s Punishment.’ No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.’ “

Sahih al-Bukhari 3017

It was narrated from Ibn`Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:“Whoever changes his religion, execute him.”

Sunan Ibn Majah 2535

Narrated ‘Abdullah: Allah’s Apostle said, “The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims.“

Sahih al-Bukhari 6878

‘Abdullah (b. Mas’ud) reported:Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) stood up and said: By Him besides Whom there is no god but He, the blood of a Muslim who bears the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and I am His Messenger, may be lawfully shed only in case of three persons: the one who abandons Islam, and deserts the community [Ahmad, one of the narrators, is doubtful whether the Prophet (ﷺ) used the word li’l-jama’ah or al-jama’ah), and the married adulterer, and life for life.

Sahih Muslim 1676c

Conclusion

Christians Persecuted in different lands, will continue to uphold the Gospel of Christ in spite of any opposition. The history of Christianity is drenched with the blood of the martyrs.

March Onward soldiers for Christ. We have signed up for a cause in which we will remain faithful till our last breath. The Martyred Pastor is resting with the Lord.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matt 10:28