Africa-Press – Uganda. A section of Muslim leaders in the districts of Kyotera and Rakai has dismissed two top leaders in the area over alleged misconduct, abuse of office and lack of integrity.
The two leaders are the district Khadi Sulaiman Luyinda and his deputy Sheikh Anwal Kaweesi- who have served for only two years.
Drama started when a meeting of top Muslim leaders was convened on Thursday chaired by district Muslim chairperson Sheikh Adam Musa Kiggundu to discuss the removal of the two clerics.
The move was further supported by one of the influential local Muslims and a member of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council General Assembly, Baker Kasagga, who read out a letter aimed to pin the two leaders.
“We cannot continue to be led by people who frustrate our religion as they sell off our property. Let them be expelled and we appoint new competent leaders,” Kasagga said on Sunday.
Kasagga alleges that Sheikh Luyinda’s administration has been tainted with a lot of fraud, mismanagement of Muslim property and abuse of office.
However, attempts to install Sheikh Ibrahim Ssejjingo as the acting Kyotera/Rakai District Khadi on Friday failed after a section of Muslims loyal to Sheikh Luyinda interrupted the ceremony, prompting police to intervene and disperse the faithful from the mosque.
UMSC spokesperson Muvawala Zziwa has since criticized Muslims in Kyotera who wanted to use force to change leadership.
“Those people very well know that we have a constitution as UMSC which we refer to when performing our duties. They have no right to dismiss a district Khadi because their roles are totally different,” he said, adding: “If they have issues with their leaders, the constitution instructs them to inform the Mufti through writing and he constitutes a probe committee to look into the matter.”
According to Zziwa, the accusations against Sheik Luyinda and his deputy are baseless and aimed at tainting their reputations.
“Under the new UMSC constitution, it’s the Uganda Muslim Property and Endowment Trust that is responsible for sale of any property and not the Khadi as it is alleged,” he explained.
Yasin Kigozi, one of the Muslims in Kyotera Town called for calm and asked the top UMSC leadership to reconcile the two warring camps.
“We should focus on repenting and praying to the Lord during this fasting period as we prepare for Idd-el Fitr,” he added as he denounced fights within Muslims.
Background
Unity has eluded Muslims in Masaka Sub-region like elsewhere in Uganda since Islam’s advent in the country in 1844.
In 1972, former Ugandan President, Idi Amin Dada forcefully “united” Muslims under the umbrella of UMSC.
However, the unity was short-lived when his government was overthrown in 1979.
Muslims reunited again in 2000 shortly after the election of the reigning Mufti Shaban Mubajje.
A few years later, divisions emerged again after Sheikh Mubajje’s leadership was accused of illegally selling Muslim property on William Street in Kampala.
Currently, Sheikh Mubajje is under intense pressure from the faithful to resign over a pending sale of eight prime properties across the country, among them, the UMSC headquarters at Old Kampala to recover an outstanding debt of more than Shs19b to businessman Justus Kyabahwa after a land transaction deal went bad.
Amid conflicts, the UMSC General Assembly last December elected Sheikh Ssemambo as acting Mufti.
It is because of the unresolved property wrangles that the country’s Muslims currently have three top parallel administrations– one headed by Mufti Mubajje at the UMSC headquarters at Old Kampala, another splinter group led by Sheikh Ssemambo, who was a former deputy to Sheikh Mubajje- and the Kibuli based faction headed by Supreme Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Galabuzi.
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