Mubajje stays put as UMSC apex organ kicks him out

The embattled Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Mubajje, has declined to relinquish power even after the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) General Assembly suspended him and chose Sheikh Abduallah Ssemambo as acting mufti.

At least 146 of the 264-member General Assembly, which is the top decision-making organ of the UMSC, convened at Ggangu Muslim Primary School in Makindye Division, Kampala, at the weekend and unanimously agreed to suspend Sheikh Mubajje for six months, accusing him of running down the council.

Under the old UMSC constitution, a mufti can be kicked out by at least one third of the UMSC members. But the new constitution says at least two thirds have that power.

The motion to suspend Mubajje was tabled by Mr Mudasiru Doka, the West Nile representative.

The acting spokesperson of the anti Mubajje faction, Mr Abdul-latif Kayanja, said the general assembly followed a December 12 court order issued after a group of Muslims petitioned the High Court in Jinja asking court to wind up the council. 

However, the court did not accept their request, stating that their appeal was not solving the ongoing infights at Old Kampala but instead creating more harm than good. But the court added that it was not too late for the general assembly, being the supreme organ, to do something about the matter through their powers.

Mr Kayanja added that the UMSC General Assembly was ordered to get a neutral chairperson to oversee the meeting and a mutual ground where they could meet and come up with a resolution.   

“The High Court directed the general assembly to convene and come up with resolution and a report on what transpired in the meeting  through their lawyers  and later inform the registrar of companies that UMSC elected new leadership,” he said

Mr Kayanja added that the meeting was presided over by the independent chairperson of the special meeting of the UMSC, Mr Badru Arapswale Sabila, a senior member of UMSC.

However, the UMSC spokesperson, Mr Ashraf Zziwa, scoffed at the weekend resolution requiring his boss to step aside, saying the conveners acted outside the law. The UMSC General Assembly comprises representatives from 78 Muslim districts with each sending two delegates, 10 Muslim regions are represented by one youth delegate and one woman delegate and another special delegate appointed by the mufti from each of the 10 regions. The 78 district Khadis are also members.

In the recently amended UMSC constitution, which was widely rejected by the faithful, Mubajje was given the green light to continue occupying office for another eight years.

However, under the old constitution, Mubajje, who has been in office since December 2000, is supposed to relinquish office when he clocks 70 years in 2025. But the new constitution says the mufti should be at least 55 years old and can serve one term of 10 years until he clocks 75. This implies that Mubajje, 67, is eligible to contest as mufti.

Mufti Shaban Mubajje’s 22-year tenure has been characterised by endless accusations of engaging in dubious land transactions, which have cost the Muslim community some of its prime properties in Kampala and several major towns across the country.