Life and times of Sheikh Anas Ssessimba

By Jafar Mugera
At 10:28 a.m. on Wednesday, October 30, a hearse carrying the remains of Sheikh Anas Ssessimba arrived at the National Mosque at Old Kampala Hill. A sizeable congregation of mourners had gathered to pay their last respects before the body was transferred to Nakasozi village near Kalisizo township in Kyotera district for burial that same day.
Ssessimba passed away the previous night after weeks of hospitalization at Mulago National Referral Hospital, where he was battling diabetes and low blood pressure.
Inside the mosque, a cross-section of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) executives, led by 1st Deputy Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Ali Waiswa and newly appointed 2nd Deputy Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Haruuna Bukenya, patiently waited for the body to be brought in for Swalat-ul-Janaza (funeral prayer).
Ssessimba’s death, coming just six weeks before the commemoration of UMSC’s gold jubilee, is a painful loss to the UMSC leadership. He was among the delegates who attended the 1972 Muslim conference in Kabale, convened by the late President Idi Amin, which led to the formation of UMSC.
“Sheikh Ssessimba was one of the delegates at the conference that led to the formation UMSC as the apex leadership body of Muslims in Uganda. He never wavered and always worked towards promoting UMSC’s objectives. For him, leadership was not about friendship or lineage,” Sheikh Waiswa said as he eulogized the fallen cleric.

JOINING UMSC
Ssessimba joined UMSC as a delegate from Masaka district and later became the district secretary for Masaka Muslim district, one of the original 21 UMSC districts. Two years later, he was transferred to UMSC headquarters as organizing secretary in the Chief Kadhi’s office.
Throughout his career, Ssessimba witnessed various leadership changes, from Sheikh Abdul Razake Matovu to Yusuf Matovu, Kassimu Mulumba, Abdu Obeid Kamulegeya, Hussein Rajab Kakooza, Ibrahim Saad Luwemba, Muhammada Ssemakula, and Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje.
“That is testament to his commitment to UMSC’s objectives,” Sheikh Ali Waiswa said.
Ssessimba’s roles changed over the years. He
handled Hajj affairs and was posted to the Majlis Ulama (College of Sheikhs), which elects the Mufti. About 10 years ago, Sheikh Mubaje redeployed him to the newly created Shurah council, the Mufti’s advisory committee, after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Away from UMSC, Ssessimba was a businessman who imported textiles from the United Arab Emirates through Sunrise Company Ltd and ran a hardware shop dealing mainly in cement.
Ssessimba fell ill at the beginning of October and was admitted to Mengo Hospital but was discharged after showing signs of improvement. However, his condition deteriorated, and he was rushed to Mulago Hospital, where he passed away on Wednesday morning. The family left the hospital unhappy after medics insisted on conducting an autopsy.
“UMSC needs to take this matter seriously, as Muslims, we accept Allah’s decision to take our father’s life, but what pains us is that Mulago Hospital insisted on a postmortem examination,” Ismail Ssessimba, a son to the deceased, told mourners.