Juma – Zukuuli leadership row deepens
Disagreements within the Juma-Zukuuli Muslim group have intensified, with supporters of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul-Noor Lunaanoba – hitherto the group’s President General, rejecting the outcome of last weekend’s general assembly.
The assembly, which was overseen by four judicial officers appointed by Justice Musa Ssekaana, led to the election of new office bearers with Sheikh Musa Kabuye elected as the new President General, and Sheikh Sufiyan Muguluma as his deputy.
However, a cross-section of Sheikh Lunaanoba’s supporters have disputed the outcome, citing irregularities and unfairness. They claim that many of their members were denied entry to the assembly, and have vowed not to recognize the new leadership.
“We heard that Justice Musa Ssekaana met with Sheikh Lunanoba and Sheikh Hussein Rajab Kakooza, who is not a party to the court case, and made the orders which resulted in the elections. Sheikh Lunanoba and Kakooza never consulted us and, therefore, we cannot allow the new leadership to assume office because these are our properties,” a disgruntled member said during a press conference on Tuesday, September 10, at the Juma – Zukuuli headquarters in Kawempe near Kampala.
Their bone of contention is with Justice Ssekaana’s failure to consult the group’s membership before making orders for the review of their constitution and the convening of the general assembly to elect new office bearers. They thus argued that the mediation process should be taken to have failed and the matter before court be heard on its merits.
“We were never part of the said mediations and what is shocking is that Sheikh Kakooza has been appointed to head the board of trustees yet we want him investigated over some of our properties,” he said.
The members also contest the election of Sheikh Sufiyan Muguluma, the principal of the Kakiri-based Bilal Islamic Institute as the group’s deputy president-general on grounds that he does not believe in their philosophy.
The disputed election also brought in Sheikh Kakooza’s sons; Hassan Ssenyondo and Hamdan Katongole, as secretary-general and secretary for Endowments and Awqaf respectively. Dr Abdul Hafiz Walusimbi was elected as the secretary for Religious Affairs.
The group further argues that while Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga is a son of the late Hajji Yunus Butanaziba who was among the pioneers of the group, it is wrong to put him among the trustees because he does not believe in the philosophy of Juma and Zukuuli having crossed to the Tabliq Muslim community.
UMSC, KIBULI POLITICS
A source revealed that while the fight at Juma and Zukuuli is veiled on properties, the ultimate goal is to throw out those paying allegiance to the Kibuli-based Office of the Supreme Mufti. Most of the leaders at Kibuli come from the Juma and Zukuuli Muslim group.
The disagreements started in 2022, Sheikh Muhamad Kasamba Tiwayilika, Ismail Kikabi, Adam Kibama and Haji Elias Takuba dragged the group’s management committee, Sheikh Lunanoba and Al-Hajji J. A Sebuta Malende to court accusing them of overstaying in office, failure to make accountability and failure to call a general assembly for over twenty years.
Consequently, Justice Musa Ssekaana ordered each side to nominate six people to make up an interim team to be chaired by Hajj Nasser Kibirige Takuba who was considered neutral.
However, the committee later fired Takuba accusing him of incompetence and in turn started chairing the meetings, further fueling the leadership crisis.
During the meetings, they agreed on constitutional amendments and elections in addition to compiling a list of pioneer families and each group listed seventy families bringing the total number of pioneer families to 140.
The list of the pioneer families was tabled in court and it was discovered that many families were missing on the list including that of Lunanoba.
Meanwhile, Justice Ssekaana appointed Kisawuzi to chair the general assembly which convened on September 7, at Kawempe but Kisawuzi declined the assignment citing personal reasons.
This forced Justice Ssekaana to appoint court registrars; Faisal Umar Mulalira, Mastula Mulondo, Zulaika Nanteza and Abdul Latif Nakibinge as joint mediators in the case with instructions to conduct the general assembly to pass the new constitution of the Juma and Zukuli trust and thereafter conduct election of the officer bearers under the new constitution.
The judge ordered that the new office bearers take office with immediate effect.
Ssekaana ordered the registrars to cause the arrest of any errant persons who attempt to disrupt the exercise in addition to ordering the Kawempe divisional police commander to provide maximum security to prevent any criminality at the general assembly.
Justice Ssekaana said the court shall proceed to determine the unresolved part of the dispute relating to accountability by the former officebearers after the election. The judge directed lawyers for both parties to file a joint scheduling memorandum and file the same in court before September 19.
