Christian World | ACW | 30 October 2026 — Uganda's High Court sitting in Iganga has sentenced eight men to death for killing two men in Namayingo, in the east of the country. Morning Star News says the victims were Christian evangelists.

According to the Daily Monitor, Justice David Batema found all eight guilty on two counts of murder on Wednesday, 7 October 2026. One of those convicted is the local council chairperson of the village.

The two victims were attacked on 19 August 2024 near the shore of Lake Victoria. The Daily Monitor reported that a group of residents intercepted them over allegations of theft, tied their hands and took them to the local chairperson's home, where a mob beat them; both died of severe head injuries. The paper describes the victims as fishermen and does not mention any religious motive.

Morning Star News, which reports on the persecution of Christians, reported on 29 October, citing witnesses and the victims' pastor, whose names it withheld, that the two were Christian evangelists ambushed after preaching to fishermen on the lakeshore. According to these sources, the attackers accused them of "misleading people," tore up their Bibles and shouted religious slogans during the attack. Morning Star News said at least one Ugandan outlet had reported robbery as the motive.

The claim of a religious motive, and that the victims were evangelists, has not yet been confirmed by other sources. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, quoted by the Daily Monitor, reaffirmed its stance against extrajudicial killings and mob violence after the verdict.

Why it matters: If the witnesses' account is correct, this is a rare case in which the killers of Christian evangelists in eastern Uganda have been convicted. Uganda's constitution guarantees freedom of religion or belief, including the right to propagate one's faith and to change religion.

Background: According to the Daily Monitor, Uganda Police's annual crime report recorded 1,016 cases of murder by mob action in 2024. Morning Star News noted that executions in Uganda require presidential authorisation and that the last execution of civilians took place in 1999.

ACW will continue to follow this story.