Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Mufti of Uganda has fired his Norther Region Assistant Sheikh Abdulaziz Hussein.
Mufti, who made this pronouncement on Monday during his tour of the Lango Muslim District, said that the embattled Assistant is incompetent and cannot fully handle the Muslim matters at hand.
“He is relieved of his duties and I hereby appoint Sheikh Musa Khalili, who has been the Kadhi of Acholi Muslim District to serve as the acting Assistant to the Mufti in charge of the Northern Muslim Region until another decision is taken. I appoint Sheikh Ismail Abdulazziz Muzamir Mandela to take over as the Acting Acholi District Kadhi until otherwise”, the Mufti declared.
According to Mubajje, Sheikh Abdulaziz didn’t raise the expectations of the appointing authority, “as he miserably failed to organize and coordinate Muslim leaders under his jurisdiction,”
“Worse still, he totally failed to adhere to the UMSC rules and regulations governing the management and accountability for UMSC properties as he adamantly with impunity took control of the popular Juba Market founded on UMSC land in the heart of Lira City as his personal and private entity where he has been collecting an unspecified amount of money for his personal use,”
Prior to announcing the changes at Idi Amin Main Mosque in Lira city, the Mufti and his delegation had a guided inspection of UMSC Property Comprising Lira P7 Primary School, Ojwina Seed Secondary School, Holy Quran Memorization-Tahfiz Centre, a Mosque, and a planned Health Center III, which was opened by His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni some years. However, the facility is non-functional and currently in a sorry state.
The mufti had a cordial interaction with the Headteachers, members of staff, and the learners at Lira P7 Primary.
The Mufti noted with concern the sorry state of the health facility, which he was reliably informed was run down by a clique of Muslims under Sheikh Yusuf Balinda, who once served as the Kadhi of Lango before he was dropped due to gross indiscipline.
The Mufti who looked bothered by the revelation asked the Lira City Police Commander and other local leaders present to support the legitimate UMSC leadership.
“This facility was built to provide health services to the communities. Really how could an individual make it rot like this? Please help us to rectify this,” he pleaded with the local authorities.
Before leaving the compound of Ojwina Seed Secondary School, the head teacher, Mr Acup Rashid Ouni caught the attention of the Mufti when he revealed that the Government had earmarked the site for the construction of a school worth Shs5.5bn under the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project-USEEP but it has delayed due to lack of a land title.
This prompted the Mufti to direct Hon. Ramathan Mugalu the UMSC Secretary-General to follow up on the matter and ensure the land is titled.
The Mufti also inspected Lockups and Washing Bay sitting on UMSC land, whose revenue ends up in the pockets of a certain clique that is very hostile to the UMSC leadership in the district. The mufti had his afternoon prayers at Idi Amin Main Mosque where he addressed a mammoth crowd.
In his speech, Mufti highlighted the key priority areas of his administration as unity and viable development of the Muslim community.
He noted that to a large extent Muslims are united across the country with the exception of a few elements pursuing their own selfish agenda.
He urged Muslims to embrace unity, development, and the poverty alleviation programs started by the government such as the Parish Development model.
He also reminded the Muslims of the need to maintain a good relationship with people of other religious denominations.
“As a founder member of the Interreligious Council of Uganda- IRCU our vision is to see Ugandans co-exist and live peacefully and so far it has bridged the gaps and has eased the work of the Government,” he said.
The Mufti also asked Muslims to embrace the forthcoming UMSC national elections by only electing leaders who qualify will push for unity and development.
Hon. Ramathan Mugalu the UMSC Secretary-General briefed the participants about the progress taking place at UMSC.On his part, Sheikh Ishaq Salim Nangoye, the Kadhi Lango Muslim District outlined several achievements and challenges he has faced since he assumed office. He noted the acquisition of a title and construction of Idi Amin Main Mosque and others in various areas, Schools, and fixing of boreholes as some of his main achievements.
He revealed to the Mufti that one of the key issues affecting his administration is the unscrupulous individuals who have illegally taken over UMSC property leading to endless court battles.
The Lira City Commissioner, Mr Lawrence Egole who was invited as a special guest thanked the Mufti for sparing time to visit the city and urged Muslims to respect their legitimate Religious leaders. He pledged to provide UMSC with the necessary support to recover its properties in the City.
The UMSC Electoral Commission Chairperson, Mr Muhammad Omar Wesswa swore in Sheikh Musa Khalili as the New Northern Region Assistant to the Mufti.
