At around midnight on Sept. 6, Amina and Shamila were inside their home in Kibenge, Kasese District, Uganda, when their house was set on fire.  

Their father, Muhamud, had doused the house with petrol, then set it alight while the girls slept inside. He had told them he would act to fulfill Islamic law since they had rejected Islam when they converted to Christianity on Aug. 26.

The girls awoke to the smell of paraffin and the sight of flames surrounding them. 

“We saw flames of fire consuming our house quietly,” Amina said. “We now started looking for Plan B to escape death.” 

The girls barely escaped in time. 

“We saw the flames coming out of the house, and we knew that our lives were in danger,” Shamila said. “We removed the bricks and escaped through the hole. Thank God that he gave us a way to get out alive.”  

The girls survived the fire, which destroyed almost everything they owned. Their mattresses, clothes, and other personal belongings were burned. They escaped from the flames with their lives, but they lost the few belongings they had. 

Unwavering Faith

After the fire, Amina said her and her sister’s faith has grown stronger than before. 

“We are happy to say that the fire consumed our shelter but did not consume our faith and hope in Jesus Christ,” she said. “We managed to remove some bricks from the wall and created a hole where we escaped from until other Christian neighbors came to rescue us and called the local leaders.” 

Local Christian leaders condemned the arson by saying it was against the law of Uganda. They added that the girls’ father should be brought to justice.  

“I want to thank God for protecting these people,” said a local chief, who wished to remain anonymous. “I also thank the Christians of my area for having that solidarity to rescue these innocent people. We are against these murderous acts under the cover of having a religious fight; it’s notorious and uncalled for.” 

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