Uganda Sentences Eight To Death For Killing Alleged Christian Evangelists (Worthy News Investigation)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

KAMPALA, UGANDA (Worthy News) – A court in Uganda has sentenced eight men to death for murdering two fishermen near Lake Victoria in 2024, in a case that Christian witnesses say involved the killing of evangelists because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

The High Court in Iganga, a town in eastern Uganda, convicted the eight defendants of murdering Robert Bagume and Moses Okech in nearby Namayingo District, near the shores of Lake Victoria, on August 19, 2024. The death sentences were handed down on October 7 following a judgment dated September 30, Worthy News established.

Morning Star News, a Christian news agency citing witnesses and residents, reported that the victims had been sharing the Gospel with fishermen for about three months before they were attacked.

Witnesses alleged that Muslim assailants accused the two men of misleading local people through their Christian preaching, tore their Bibles apart and shouted religious slogans during the assault.

However, court documents reviewed by Worthy News⁠ describe a mob attack following accusations of theft and assault, without establishing anti-Christian sentiments as the motive.

LAKE VICTORIA KILLINGS

“They were intercepted on Lake Victoria where they had gone fishing, tied their hands from behind with a rope,” High Court Justice David Batema wrote in his judgment.

The judge found that the men were subsequently beaten to death by a mob. Medical evidence established that they died from traumatic brain injuries.

According to the judgment, witnesses identified seven defendants who seized the men near the lake and took them to the home of Odongo Misaki, then the local council chairman of Bukewa Central village.

The court heard that the chairman slapped Bagume and handed the two men over to an angry crowd rather than arranging for their transfer to police custody.

Justice Batema concluded that all eight defendants were criminally responsible for the murders, rejecting their denials of involvement.

EIGHT CONVICTED OF MURDER

Those convicted included Misaki, Karoli Lwanga, Musoke Yakuti, Kabwiso Mairadi, Talisuna Muzaham, Wandera Karim, Wasire Pius and Latifu Nyanga.

The judge found that several defendants used a pickaxe, sticks and stones during the killings, while the council chairman facilitated the violence by surrendering the victims to the mob.

A Christian woman who claimed to have witnessed the killings and testified during the trial maintained that the attackers had challenged the victims’ faith and accused them of converting people to Christianity.

“You infidels, why are you misleading our people?” the witness recalled the assailants shouting, according to the Christian news agency.

The woman, whose identity was withheld for security reasons, explained that she had embraced Christianity after hearing the two evangelists preach.

CHRISTIAN WITNESSES SPEAK

She claimed that the assailants were among local fishermen who had previously heard the two men share the Gospel and that religious hostility motivated the attack.

The agency also quoted the victims’ pastor, whose name was withheld for security reasons, as welcoming the convictions after a prolonged search for justice.

“We have been following this case since it happened, and indeed we have received justice from this honorable court,” the pastor explained.

Yet, the published judgment describes prosecution testimony that Bagume had been accused of assaulting fishermen, using their boats without permission and stealing property. The differing accounts of the motive could not immediately be reconciled.

Uganda’s continued use of capital punishment has also drawn renewed attention following the death sentences, although the country has not executed a civilian prisoner since April 1999.

DEATH PENALTY IN UGANDA

It was not immediately clear whether the convicted men had appealed their sentences. Under Ugandan law, they can challenge the verdicts through the courts, while President Yoweri Museveni has the constitutional authority to pardon them or commute their death sentences.

Uganda’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, including the right to preach and change one’s faith. According to the 2024 national census, Christians account for about 82 percent of the population, while Muslims represent 13.2 percent.

Christian investigators have documented other alleged attacks on converts and evangelists in eastern Uganda. In February 2025, an evangelist was reportedly stabbed and three colleagues beaten following a public conversion to Christianity in Mukono District.

These incidents highlighted broader concerns among Christians about the safety of evangelists and converts, including former Muslims, in parts of Uganda.

The latest eight death sentences also demonstrated the willingness of Uganda’s courts to impose the country’s most severe punishment for mob killings, including on a local community leader found guilty of facilitating the violence.

It was unclear whether the Ugandan verdict would have wider legal consequences elsewhere in East Africa, where religious differences can contribute to deadly clashes.

However, for the families of Bagume and Okech, the convictions mark a major development more than two years after their loved ones were murdered near the shores of Lake Victoria.