3 Christians Stoned to Death by Muslim Mob in Kenya; Only Faith in God Keeps Family Going
Three Christians in western Kenya were stoned to death by a Muslim mob, leaving their relatives in fear and seeking God for strength.
International Christian Concern reported on an anonymous witness who said that the killing happened at a construction site.
Fredrick Mukanda Bahati, one of the Christian victims, was building a new house with his two assistants and they were mixing mortar when they saw the mob arriving.
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The mob was reportedly angry at Christians in Elwak, Mandera, due to the recent killing of three suspected al-Shabaab militants outside the town.
"From a distance, I saw the men hurling construction stones towards Fredrick and his coworkers," the witness described.
"The three managed to flee into a nearby hotel for safety, although they had been badly injured. The Muslims relentlessly followed them up and stoned them to death."
A local pastor, who wasn't named, said that he is "shocked" at the killing of the three Christians who had only been trying to earn a living.
"We are not safe at all and this incident shows how Muslims hate believers in Christ. We have known it is the armed militants belonging to the al-Shabaab that kill people, but now we have discovered that even our close Muslim friends can commit atrocities against us," the pastor said.
Bahati's family laid his body to rest on Sept. 22 and questioned why police did not do a better job of protecting Christians.
"This is a sad day in our family. We have lost a man who was skilled in construction and loved all of us. He always reminded us to pray and trust God even in difficult times. That is what is keeping us going after losing him. We were expecting to see him before the end of the year but now what we have is the memories, a widow, and two children to take care of," said Wycliffe Mukanda, Fredrick's brother.
"Where were the police to protect [them]?" the brother asked.
Although Christians make up the majority in Kenya, they have repeatedly been targeted by radical factions, including the Somali-based al-Shabaab terror group.
Earlier in September, the Islamic militants attacked a bus heading to Garissa, where they forced the passengers outside. They asked for identification cards, seperated the Muslims from the Christians, and ended up executing two believers who could not recite the Islamic statement of faith.
"ICC is following up with the families of these two martyrs. This group's intense hatred and violence has caused massive pain for many families and friends of Christians like these two," the watchdog group said at the time.
"The Kenyan and Somali governments must continue to work to end the horrible atrocities that this evil organization commits and protect the lives of Christians in Kenya."
