Tension mounts over Muslim property loss
By Shabibah Nakirigya
Muslims at the Gaddafi National Mosque in Old Kampala held their Jumah (Friday prayers) amid heightened se- curity due to reports of a planned protest by a section of the Muslim community. The protest is against the al- leged sale of Muslim properties.
Similar incidents played out at several mosques affiliated with the faction of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Coun-
cil (UMSC). In the early hours of Friday morning, the police and other security forces,including the military, deployed in and around the Gaddafi Mosque, which also serves as the headquarters for the UMSC leadership.
Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje, the Mufti of Uganda, and the leadership of the UMSC are jointly accused of mortgaging several Muslim community properties. These properties are set to be auctioned following a
High Court order.
By 12pm on Friday, Muslims had started gathering at Old Kampala to attend prayers. Thorough search- es were conducted on all individuals accessing the mosque premises. The heightened security measures also af- fected businesses around the mosque, as people were tense in anticipation of potential unrest.
The Jumah prayers commenced promptly at 1pm in the presence of Sheikh Mubajje and other top UMSC leaders. The prayers proceeded with- out interruption to the end. Unrest Immediately after the prayers, a scuffle ensued when former Nsangi Municipality Mayor Hajji Abdul Kiyimba, a top leader in the community, stood up and started shouting “Al-lahu Akbar (God is the greatest)” moving toward Sheikh Mubajje. Security personnel restrained him before he reached his target and whisked him away,along with another unidentified man, to Kampala Central Police Station where they remained detained by press time.
Addressing the media after the scuffle, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyan- go, said the police had beefed up security at the mosque following intelligence reports of an imminent raid by the faction opposed to Mubajje and his leadership.
“Some of them were calling for the resignation of the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Mubajje, and when we got the information, we immediately planned and set out strategies on how to keep the city safe and peaceful,” he said,
