UMSC secretary general reinstated in dramatic move

The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) has reinstated the embattled secretary general, Hajj Ramathan Mugalu, in a dramatic move protested by a section of the General Assembly.

Hajj Mugalu was on Wednesday fired by the UMSC executive committee over allegations of “abuse of office, corruption, extortion and failure to provide accountability of monies from various Muslim community properties sold off to individual developers across the country.”

During the session at UMSC headquarters at Old Kampala, chaired by Hajj Abdul Nadduli, the executive members through a vote elected Mr Muhammad Aluma to serve as acting secretary general. Mr Aluma took oath of allegiance and promised to serve in his new position.

But the joint session which sat on Friday afternoon unanimously resolved to reinstate Hajj Mugalu in their meeting chaired by the UMSC national Chairperson Hajj Abdul Nadduli.The latter is the one who also presided over the first meeting which sacked Hajj Mugalu  . The joint session comprises the executive and College Sheikhs (Majlis Ulama).

"In accordance with the UMSC Constitution article 11(e), 11(5),  the Members of the Joint Session held today July 8, 2022 , have heard the petition and thereafter gave Haj Mugalu a fair  hearing to which he was able to explain and clear all grounds leveled against him,” reads the  UMSC communication. 

According to the UMSC spokesperson Asharifu Zziwa Muvawala, the decision to reinstate Hajj Mugalu was communicated in a joint communique signed by Nadduli on behalf of the National Executive and the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje, on behalf of the College of Sheikhs.

But some members of the general assembly, the top decision making organ of UMSC oppose Hajj Mugalu’s return to office.

“The Joint Session has no powers to reverse the decision of the executive. It is only the General Assembly which has such powers but we haven’t sat,” a member of the general assembly who preferred anonymity said on Saturday.

The source claimed they had “received information that members of the Joint Session who cleared Hajj Mugalu’s return to office were bribed with Shs5m each.”

“That  shows how our institution is rotting away, but the UMSC General Assembly is going to pronounce its self on that matter and may end up  firing both the secretary general and mufti because they have turned UMSC into a laughing stock,” the member of the general assembly warned.

UMSC elections

The 230-member General Assembly is expected to convene between July 11 and July 13 to discuss among others, the draft UMSC constitution and approve a new road map for election of Muslim leaders at all levels.

After electing the Muslim leaders at lower levels as planned, the Muslim faithful will shift focus to electing a new mufti when the tenure of Sheikh Mubajje expires in 2025.

However, there are reports that the Assembly may also seal Mufti Mubajje’s fate.

This is not the first time a resolution of an organ of UMSC is quashed in a similar manner. In 2008, the General Assembly unanimously sacked Mufti Mubajje accusing him of    

conducting himself in a manner not befitting Islamic principles, after being implicated in irregular sale of community property at William Street,Kampala ,but the latter refused to relinquish office  ,saying the General Assembly had  convened at a ‘wrong venue’, a hotel instead of UMSC conference hall. In 2010, Mufti Mubajje was again impeached over dishonesty and incompetence but he still remained in office.

Mufti Mubajje’s 22-year tenure has been characterized by endless accusations of engaging in dubious land transactions that have reportedly cost the Muslim community of some of its prime properties across the country.