By Angel Lubowa
KAMPALA. The Uganda Muslim community is developing mixed reaction and may turn violent after learning that sheikh Shaban Ramadan Mubajje who has been at the helm of UMSC for 20 years is set to bounce back after clocking 70 years next month.
Such development is starting to rapture the already divided Muslim population including those who initially thought that Mubajje was leaving on clocking 70 years as stipulated in the original UMSC constitution.
The resultant of all this drama will be further weakening of the Muslims , reducing development and honour .
Presently three major factions stand out in Muslim leadership with the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council ( UMSC) at Kampala mukadde, the Kibuli based supreme Mufti faction and the Sheikh Abdullah Semambo’s faction which denounced sheikh Mubajje and is housed in a hotel in Kampala mukadde too.
When Sheikh Mubajje assumed office on December 11,2000 after being elected by UMSC general assembly sitting at hotel Africana he had raised hope to build a united Muslim community, make positive changes with in the constitution and govern well.
Years later some Moslem found alleged leakages in his administration including the alleged sale of Muslim properties country wide and when uprooting him failed, the Kibuli Supreme Mufti office faction was born.
Mubajje denies selling off Moslem propried.
Those who didn’t join Kibuli lately chose to oust sheikh Mubajje during a special UMSC’s AGM sitting in Gangu which elected
Sheikh Abdallah Ibrahim Semambo.
Other Muslims have since imaginaliry waited for the changes as Sheikh Mubajje handed over office since he will be 70 years next month.
The UMSC constitution until July 13, 2022 when a few changes were ratified stated that one would occupy the office of the Mufti at the age of 55 and would cease upon clocking 70 years.
But the new ratified constitution now has provisions of one to occupy the office of the Mufti for 10 years and cease after clocking 75 years.
Similar changes were made to shift the voting of the Mufti from the AGM of the UMSC to the college of sheikhs( Majiris Ulama)
Those monitoring the machinations of Sheikh Mubajje now says that he is set to exploit these provisions to bounce back for another five years somehow, somehow.
Although he has not made any official pronouncements, his close workmate and spokesman of UMSC, Ashiraf Zziwa says that Mubajje is yet to make out his mind.
But the forces opposed to sheikh Mubajje are bracing for both legal and other unofficial means to ensure Mubajje doesn’t enthrone him self.
Already Sheikh Semambo’s faction who are already in court to throw him out are closely watching from their Kampala mukadde office near Mubajje’s seat.
Other groups are moving to mobilize against any such move while the UMSC it’s self apart from a few members is also holding it’s cards clear.
It’s a matter of a few days when heaven is going to let lose but Allah behold that the Uganda Muslim community does not degenerate into a laughing stock.
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