In eastern Uganda, a 19-year-old woman was severely burned by her father on 21st July after he discovered that she had converted from Islam to Christianity, according to local sources.
The Christian Post has reported how Naasike Maliyati, from Nampologoma in the Butaleja District, recounted that she attended an evangelistic crusade on 15th July during a visit to her grandmother in Lwangoli, Busoba Sub-County, Mbale District. Accompanied by a friend, Maliyati decided to embrace Christianity during the event.
"When they invited people to commit their lives to Christ, I stepped forward and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior," Maliyati shared. "When I returned home, I confided in my sister about leaving Islam. She, in turn, informed our father of my conversion."
On the following Sunday, Maliyati, who is a student at Noor Islamic Institute in Mbale, attended a church service. Upon her return, she was met with the anger of her father, Abdulrahim Kutosi, 44, and several uncles.
“They tied me up, beat me, and then my father grabbed a hot flat iron and scalding water, using them to burn me," Maliyati told Morning Star News.
"He yelled that I was a disgrace to the family, and as he inflicted the burns, he raged that I had brought shame upon us by abandoning Islam. He continued to shout that even Allah was angry with me as I felt the intense pain in my body."
Maliyati was warned by her father to stop attending church services. She was then placed on a motorbike by relatives and abandoned near the Namatala River. Fortunately, Nicolas Ndobooli, a Christian who was passing by on a motorcycle, heard her cries for help.
"I heard someone crying out and calling, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!’" Ndobooli said. "As a Christian, I felt compelled to stop. I took the risk of picking her up and rushed her to a clinic."
Local Christians have condemned the violent actions of Kutosi against his daughter, emphasising the need for religious tolerance.
This incident is one of many cases of persecution faced by Christians in Uganda.
While Uganda's constitution guarantees religious freedom, including the right to convert from one faith to another, Christians in certain regions, particularly in eastern Uganda where Muslims make up about 12 per cent of the population, continue to face significant challenges.