Uganda: 5 Muslims sentenced to death for killing two evangelists who preached to Lake Victoria fishermen
The Oct. 7 ruling hits the killers of Robert Baguma and Moses Okech; executions require the president's sign-off, and Uganda has not hanged a civilian since 1999.
Robert Baguma and Moses Okech were walking back from the shore of Lake Victoria in eastern Uganda when they were ambushed on Aug. 19, 2024. For three months the two men had been sharing the gospel with fishermen in the area. They were beaten, cut and stoned to death, according to residents who spoke to Morning Star News.
More than two years later, the case has a verdict. A judge in Uganda sentenced five Muslims to death for killing the two Christian evangelists. The sentence came on Oct. 7, and the five are Musoke Yakuti, Kabwiso Mairadi, Talisuna Muzaham, Wandera Kalimu and Nyanga Latifu. Iganga High Court Justice David Batema handed it down.
Three other Muslims also received death sentences for being present at the assault and failing to call police, area residents said. One of them is Odongo Misaki, who was chairman of Bukewa Central village at the time. The other two are his brothers.
Os evangelistas foram assassinados durante uma missão no país. (Foto: Ilustração/Portas Abertas)
The two men had been sent out by a church in Iganga, which is not named for security reasons. The assignment was plain: go to the water's edge and tell the fishermen about Christ. Residents told Morning Star News that the five convicted men were among the fishermen who heard the gospel during that three-month outreach on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The two evangelists were killed near Bukewe Central village, in Bukewe Sub-county, Namayingo District, close to the lake. The ambush came as they were returning from the place where they had been preaching.
Namayingo sits in eastern Uganda on the Kenyan border, a fishing region with a strong Muslim presence. For the people who live there, the lake is work, commerce and a meeting place. That is where the church chose to plant the gospel.
Three people saw the attack from a distance and later testified at trial. One of them, whose name is withheld for security, said she came to faith in Christ when the evangelists told her the gospel. She told the court the attackers accused the two men of misleading people and tore their Bibles to pieces.
She told Morning Star News she was close enough to "see everything" and to hear the attackers speaking Lusoga, the local language. She repeated what she heard: "Today we're out to kill you to prove the power of Allah." The men also demanded to know why the evangelists had come to their village, since it was "a Muslim area."
The witness alerted the church's pastor, who went to the Iganga police station that same day. The suspects were arrested two months later.
An alternative account also made the rounds in the press. At least one Ugandan outlet, in an effort to avoid religious tension, reported that Baguma and Okech were killed over a robbery accusation, Morning Star News said. Local Christians, residents said, followed the case for two years knowing the religious motive of the killers.
A death sentence in a country that has not hanged a civilian in 27 years
The verdict does not mean an execution is imminent. Morning Star News reports that executions depend on authorization by Uganda's president. The last execution of civilians in Uganda was on April 27, 1999, when 28 inmates were hanged at Luzira Prison.
The 1995 Constitution requires the highest appellate court to confirm a sentence before anyone is put to death, according to Kampala's Daily Monitor. A prisons spokesman said in June that death sentences go through appeals, including Supreme Court confirmation. At the time, the country held 93 inmates on death row.
Since 2009, Ugandan courts have not allowed an automatic death penalty for murder. Judges must weigh each case. It was not clear whether the convicted men would appeal, though there were no signs of further legal action when the original report was filed.
Where changing faith carries a price
Uganda's constitution guarantees religious freedom, including the right to share one's faith and to change it. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of the population, with high concentrations in the east. In 2018 a spokesman for the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council told the Washington Times the figure is closer to 25 percent. The numbers remain disputed.
Open Doors says persecution is strongest in eastern Uganda, especially for converts with a Muslim background. The group describes mob violence by Muslims in the region as frequent. Uganda is not among the 50 countries on Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List.
The Namayingo killings were not an isolated case. On April 9 of this year, evangelist Alfred Kitenga was beaten and stabbed as he and his wife returned from a preaching event in Kampala. He died of his wounds.
Two by two, like the sent ones of Luke 10
Luke's Gospel says Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them out "two by two" (Luke 10:1). He warned them they were going like lambs among wolves (Luke 10:3). Baguma and Okech also went out as a pair, sent by a local church to a place where no one promised them a welcome.
The pastor who sent them, whose name is withheld, received the sentence with relief. "We are very happy with the court of law for the penalty given," he told Morning Star News, calling it a significant moment for the Christians who followed the case.
"We have been following this case since it happened," he said, "and indeed we have received justice from this honorable court."
