NAIROBI, Kenya: An evangelist who had received death threats from Muslim extremists was killed after leading Muslims and others to Christ on June 17 in eastern Uganda, sources said.
Evangelist Richard Malinga texted his pastor that Muslims were encircling him, and that is when his body was discovered that evening in Kayete Swamp in Akisim A village, Butebo District, according to sources. It was 1936 for him.
His pastor said a Pallisa District Baptist church sent him home to share the gospel. He left his hometown early on June 17 to preach the gospel in Butebo District, where several people—including some radical Muslims—came to faith in Christ, according to the senior pastor of his church.
The pastor’s identity is being kept confidential for security purposes. “On June 17, in the evening, I received a brief message from Malinga regarding being surrounded by Muslims,” the pastor said. “I wrote to him multiple times but never heard back.”
The pastor claimed that Muslim extremists in Budaka, Kadama, Butebo, and Pallisa had been sending Malinga menacing messages.
An area resident found Malinga’s body.
“I heard a loud wailing at around 7:30 p.m. on the main road between Butebo and Alodot village near Kayete Swamp in Akisim, a village situated in Butebo District,” said the resident on condition of anonymity. “We dashed to the scene and found the victim in a pool of blood. We found the victim dead and tied with ropes.”
After locating Malinga’s phone and messages from the pastor, they called him in an attempt to determine his identity. After receiving a call from the pastor, the Butebo District police showed up at the scene with the resident and transported Malinga’s body to a mortuary in the district.
The next day, the police started searching.
“We as a church are very saddened to lose our active, devoted, and committed evangelist who won many people, including Muslims, to Christianity,” the pastor said.
Police have opened a murder case, file No. CRB 178/2024.
The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.
Uganda’s constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one’s faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.