June 16 marked the one-year anniversary of a sickening terror attack at a Christian boarding school in western Uganda, in which Islamist terrorists murdered 42 people.
On June 16, 2023, the Islamist "Allied Democratic Forces" (ADF), based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), invaded the compound of the private Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School in Uganda's Kasese District.
Islamic militants firebombed student dormitories; students fleeing the fire were either gunned down or hacked to death with machetes. Students trapped in the dormitories burned to death as the terrorists shouted "Allahu akbar!" ("Allah is the greatest!"). Some of the victims' bodies, burnt beyond recognition, required DNA testing to identify them. Six students were kidnapped.
During the 90-minute attack, 42 people were murdered, including 38 students, a school guard, and three local residents. According to the police, the victims' ages ranged from 12 to 95.
The BBC reported that the schoolchildren were singing gospel songs before the attack. Mary Masika, a woman who lives opposite the school, said then she heard screaming:
"The students usually sing before bedtime - and at first she and her daughter thought the noise that interrupted their songs at around 22:00 (20:00 GMT) suggested that they were having a bit of fun. But it soon became clear that something horrific was under way at the school, which had around 60 boarders living in a small compound. ADF rebels had entered dormitories, setting fire to them and using machetes to kill and maim students.
"One family in Mpondwe held the funerals for a father and son killed in the attack - 47-year-old security guard Elphanas Mbusa and 17-year-old Masereka Elton. Their other son, 15-year-old Brian Muhindo who was also attending the school, is missing. They do not know if he is among the six boys kidnapped or one of those whose bodies cannot be identified because they have been burned so badly.
"It was a devastating and upsetting scene. Lots of dried blood is still on the ground outside the girls' dormitory -- they had been attacked with machetes and others shot dead as they ran away. The boys' dormitory had been locked -- they had either refused to open it to the rebels or they were locked inside by them. The militants poured fuel on the building and set it alight. Inside, the smell of death is unmistakable -- beds have been reduced to wire mesh with pieces of flesh still stuck to them.
"Masika said towards the end of the attack, at around 23:30, she heard one of the assailants talking at her gate and asking a fellow fighter if 'the job was done'. They were talking in Swahili -- the lingua franca in the region -- and afterwards began shouting 'Allahu Akbar', meaning 'Allah is the greatest'."
The majority of Uganda's population of 49.7 million is Christian. According to the US State Department, which cites the 2014 Ugandan government census:
"The census reports Muslims constitute 14 percent of the population. The UMSC [Uganda Muslim Supreme Council] states that Muslims (primarily Sunni) are closer to 35 percent of the population."
In recent years, Uganda has faced a growing threat from radical Islamic groups, notably "Allied Democratic Forces -- National Army for the Liberation of Uganda" (ADF-NALU) and the Islamic State (ISIS) -- which have targeted Christians and escalated security concerns.
Abdul Rashid Kyoto, for instance, reportedly a commander in the Islamic ADF group, was charged by Uganda's director of public prosecutions with murdering a honeymoon couple from the UK and South Africa and their Ugandan guide in an attack in a national park on October 17, 2023.
In another incident, last December, assailants from the ADF attacked a village in Kamwenge district in Western Uganda. They murdered a 75-year-old woman and her two grandchildren before burning the bodies.
Open Doors, which monitors the persecution of Christians worldwide, reports:
"ADF-NALU, formed in 1995, aims to establish an Islamic state in Uganda and has been a recurrent source of violence. Its founder, Jamil Mukulu, was arrested in 2015 and faces multiple charges, including terrorism. ADF-NALU operatives, trained in North Kivu (DRC), continue to infiltrate Uganda. ADF-NALU has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Meanwhile, ISIS has also claimed responsibility for various attacks.
"The Allied Democratic Forces have ramped up activities within Uganda, deploying trained fighters to incite terror among the populace. With their operational base strengthening in DRC's forested regions, the ADF is likely to pose an even greater threat and has already been using explosives in Uganda, causing loss of life and property. This directly endangers Christian communities, who are among their targets.
"Their brutal attacks, such as the one on the Christian boarding school in June 2023, have instilled widespread fear and trauma, undermining the security of Christians and other religious minorities."
Open Doors further explains:
"In parts of Uganda, especially in the eastern region where the Muslim community makes up the majority, the hostility faced by Christians, particularly by converts from Islam, is severe. Christians in these areas are frequently targeted for bullying and harassment that can escalate to severe consequences like community expulsion, physical assaults, and in extreme cases, even killings."
More recently, on March 30, a Christian man named Ronald Twinomugisha was murdered by Muslims in Busei B village in Iganga District for converting Muslims to Christianity. Twinomugisha had received threats by text message from Muslims before they hacked him to death.
The Christian Post reported that Twinomugisha had moved to the area from western Uganda in February 2022, and by the end of 2023, he had led four Muslims to Christianity. The four former Muslims relocated elsewhere due to threats from their families.
Converts from Islam to Christianity in Uganda face ostracism, expulsion, house arrest or physical violence from their families and local community.
On March 25, for instance, Musobya Mujjibu, a Muslim in Namutumba District, poured scalding water on his wife and their 10-year-old daughter, Sharifa Nangobi, after learning they both converted to Christianity. The mother and child suffered serious burns and were taken to a medical clinic for treatment.
Open Doors notes:
"Radical Islam remains the foremost driver of religious persecution in Uganda, especially as Islamic communities are aggressively working to expand their influence and reach. Even though Uganda identifies as a secular state, its membership in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) since the 1970s has bolstered the Muslim presence, primarily in eastern Uganda."
Africa has become a major focus of ISIS' post-Caliphate strategy, and Uganda appears to be one of the jihadists' targets. Terror groups, however, are not the only persecutors of Christians in the country. Radical Muslims often attack churches and Christians. Most converts have endured many forms of persecution orchestrated by family members and community members.
Uganda and other African nations -- especially Sudan, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Mali, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritania, Cameroon, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tanzania -- are increasingly suffering at the hands of radical Islamists. They are proof of how much even majority non-Muslim, secular nations are vulnerable at the hands of jihadist groups. To prevent jihadists from massacring, abusing or enslaving non-Muslims, and taking over the continent, countries need immediately to crack down on all extremist groups. Do not grant them space to operate.
Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
