Somali Christians still persecuted in Kenya
By Noel Mwakugu
In a secluded house just outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, a group of men and women meet at least once a week to worship in secret.
Nairobi’s Eastleigh Estate has become known as Little Mogadishu
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Their prayer session is simple and conducted in Somali. Elders take turns to pray or read verses from the Somali bible before a sermon is delivered.
There are dozens of Somalis living in Nairobi who have converted from Islam to Christianity.
Some say they have been practising Christianity for more than 10 years.
But they live in constant fear of persecution from members of the Somali community, which is predominantly Muslim.
There is a sizeable Somali community in Kenya, comprising ethnic Somali Kenyans, and a large number of refugees from Somalia.
Most of the community lives in Nairobi’s Eastleigh Estate, which is now referred to as Little Mogadishu, after Somalia’s capital.
Fundamentalist threat
Many of the refugees fled the war in Somalia.
For a few, it was the threat of religious persecution that forced them to leave their homes and seek refuge in Kenya.
“There was a group of people who wanted to kill me, so I was one of the first refugees to leave Mogadishu because I knew I would be a target as soon as the government collapsed,” says Michael, one of the converts.
“The fundamentalists could easily attack me and kill me,” he says.
Some of his fellow converts were not so lucky.
“They killed some of my friends. There was a small fellowship that used to meet in my house, about 12 of them, six of them were killed,” he says.
Despite fleeing to Kenya, where Christianity is the major religion, life has still not improved for the Somali Christians.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7464035.stm
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