A Christian woman was beaten and forced to drink a pesticide by her Muslim husband upon finding bibles in her personal belongings.
Zubeda Nabirye, a Christian woman in Uganda, experienced persecution in the hands of her own husband in Matovu Village in Bugiri District on Nov. 21, Morning Star News reported.. Umar Kyakulaga, the Muslim husband, beat her and forced her to drink pesticide after discovering Bibles kept in her wife's belongings.
In an interview with Morning Star News' contact, Nabirye explained that her Muslim husband found two Bibles hidden in her suitcase. She possessed Bibles in two different translations; English and their native language.
When the 38-year old wife was asked if she had converted to Christianity, she said she gave her husband a plain answer that she has been reading the Bible and comparing its content to those written in Quran.
Kyakulaga's anger ignited when the mother of three admitted that she got convicted and converted to Christianity. She said the husband then started reading and quoting verses in the Quran about what men are entitled to do when their wives disobey them.
"My husband began reading verses in the Quran that allowed men to beat their wives if they disobey them, and after that, he started beating me with slaps and sticks," she said.
Nabirye added that her husband did not seem content with seeing her suffer from beating alone and asked her to drink a toxic pesticide.
"As if this was not enough, he forced me to take Dithane M-45," Nabirye added.
In spite of her efforts to avoid swallowing the pesticide, the afflicted wife was forced to ingest the harmful chemical while her husband choked her and continued beating her with a stick. She ended up losing her consciousness and taking in some amounts of the Dithane M-45.
She was filled with blood and vomit when her neighbors found her groaning near a banana plant where she believer her husband presumably left her to die. When she came back to her senses, she saw her neighbors surrounding her, but her husband was no longer in sight.
The neighbors sent her to the hospital for immediate treatment. She stayed under the medication and finally got discharged on Dec. 2.
Although the afflicted Christian wife is now in a safe place living with a Christian family away from her persecuting Muslim husband, she can't help but think about her three children. Her children ages sixteen, thirteen, and nine years old are now in the custody of her mother-in-law.
"I know it will be very difficult for me to see them and reunite with them," said Nabirye who lives in an undisclosed location for her safety, the Christian Post reported.
A relative of Nabirye saide she will not file charges with the police over the abuse as it might provoke or incite more violence.
Although a majority of Uganda's population are Christians, the Muslim community continues to grow. Muslim leaders in the country even claimed that they dominate the nation's population.
Nabirye's case is not an isolated story in the country. Reports claim that there has been an increase in the number of Christians suffering from persecution because of their faith.
Just last month, on Nov. 21, Pastor Wilson Niwamanya and his son Simon Peter Bizimaana were killed by a group of four Muslims as they were on their way home to Kabale. People say the motive behind this is religion. Pastor Niwamanya's wife said her husband had been receiving threats because he is distributing "books that discredit Islam."
Also, on the night of Oct. 31, Pastor David Omara of Christian Church Center was beaten and killed after his radio broadcast. The pastor reportedly compared Christianity and Islam during his program.
