Angry Ssemambo blames Judiciary over failure to take Mufti’s office
Sheikh Abdallah Ssemambo, the head of a splinter group of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) general assembly, has accused the Judiciary of creating a leadership gap at UMSC because of the delayed settlement of a litigation battle between him and the Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubaje-led group.
The court battle stems from a December 17, 2023, resolution taken by some members of the general assembly, naming Ssemambo as acting Mufti, after they accused Mubaje of mismanaging Muslim properties.
“As you all know, the muslim community has for the past few months has had its ears and eyes in the High Court of Uganda at Jinja but to our dismay [on Tuesday], the presiding judge Faridah Bukirwa Ntambi informed court that our file was informally called by the Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija at Kampala. This leaves many questions to be answered. Which special interest does the Principal Judge have in this matter?” Ssemambo wondered. He was addressing a press conference at Tagy Hotel in Kampala.
He appealed to the top management to fast-track the case saying that his delay to assume office as acting Mufti of Uganda had caused a leadership vacuum at the Muslim body.
“In the first ruling, the Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija stopped me from assuming office as acting mufti of Uganda without reinstating Sheikh Shaban Mubaje yet the members of the General Assembly had suspended him from office. This means that the Muslim community was left technically without a formal leadership,” Ssemambo said.
Making reference to the unpleasant scenes witnessed during Eid-al-Fitri prayers at Old Kampala Mosque when a section of worshippers heckled Mubaje as he delivered his Eid day message, Ssemambo urged the government to look into the matter before the situation goes out of hand. He said that it is important to resolve to avoid a similar occurrence during Eid-al-Adhuha prayers which is coming in 50 days.
The case had been scheduled for hearing on Tuesday but when it came up, the presiding judge, Faridah Shamilah Bukirwa Ntambi, informed the parties that Zeija had for the second time called the file to his office and therefore hearing of the case could not proceed.
This followed her April 15 disqualification of lawyers Musa Kabega and Adam Kibwanga Makmot from representing Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) in a case on grounds that they are conflicted in the matter because they are members of the UMSC general assembly whose resolution is core to the case.
Ssemambo’s lawyer, Elias Luyimbaazi Nalukoola, argued that while the principal judge has powers to recall a file for perusal, it must be done in writing and all parties must be notified but the same was not done. “This is a bad practice and we condemn it and it should stop because it undermines the doctrine of judicial independence,” Nalukoola said.
