A former Muslim in eastern Uganda who placed his faith in Christ in March was invited to his death on August 19, sources said.
After a Muslim friend lured him there on a job promise, in Kamonkori village, Mohamed Nagi of Nyanza South Village, Mugitisab County in Budaka district and Nyanza Parish, was murdered. Nagi, the father of five children, between 4 and 15 years old, was 38 years old.
Nagi’s wife, Nushura Nushura, said Nagi and his family had embraced the Christian faith after the pastors of the church in Mbar visited their home and shared the gospel.
Two weeks later, the family began attending a pastor’s church, which was ignored for security reasons, but soon, along with one of Nagi’s friends, identified only as Rajab, a relative looked at them near the place of worship and asked questions.
“We didn’t answer his questions,” Nushura said. “When we realized we were under surveillance, we decided to start attending another church.”
In July, they noticed a widespread rumor that they had begun attending other churches. Rajab questions his husband about why he missed the prayer at the mosque on Friday, and Nagi’s brother and parents confront him.
Nushura said he “said he deserves to be killed.” “Because since the creation of this world, no one has seen a Christian in his family become a Christian, and he has no idea why anyone should abandon the true religion of Islam that came directly through the Prophet Muhammad.”
At about 8pm on August 19, Nagi received a call from Rajab and told him to meet him at the Mail 5 Trade Centre in Nyunza South Village, Nushura said.
“I heard Rajab on the phone and told her husband he got him that he had worked in the morning, but he asked him to meet him first that night and give him all the details,” she told Morning Star News. “He convinced him that a phone conversation would not be enough. But I told my husband to postpone the evening meeting. But he said that Rajab had lost his job and showed the urgency to meet him.”
Nagi left quickly to secure work, she said.
“We were waiting and waiting as we started moving towards midnight,” Nusra said. “I tried to contact him by phone, but everything was in vain. In the morning, my neighbor, Nice Isima, saw her husband died around 6am and called me over the phone.”
She reported the killing of police (ref. CRB 070/2025) at Budaka Central Police Station. The officers arrived at the scene led by Kwebiha Sarapio of the Budaka Police Station.
“The deceased’s body was found with physical head injuries and dragged to a distance of 20 meters on a muddy road,” Sarabio said. “There were no signs of strangulation.”
The body was taken to a funeral in Mbale for his death.
Rajab is then missing and police are searching for him as the main suspect in Nagi’s murder.
His widow said their five children were 4, 7, 9, 12 and 15 years old.
The murder was the latest in many examples of persecution of Christians in Ugandan that Star News documented that morning.
The Uganda constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to spread faith and to transform from one faith to another. Muslims make up less than 12% of Uganda’s population, and the eastern part of the country has high concentration.
