Prince Nakibinge decries the profiling of muslims in terror fight

The titular head of Muslim in Uganda, Prince Kassim Nakibinge, has asked the government and the security agencies to be professional in dealing with terrorism, saying that extrajudicial killings have no place in the country.

His remarks followed the recent heinous acts in a double explosion that hit Kampala, killing Seven and injuring over 30 people.

The Muslim community has always accused security of targeting their members in the ongoing operations against suspected terrorists, their recruiters, funders and collaborators.

Whereas police has often blamed the attacks on the ADF who mainly use Arabic and Muslim names, Nakibinge said having an Arabic name is not enough evidence for profiling, adding that this would be unfair to Islamic faith.

“You know it better than me. I am telling the security. When you were in the bush, you named yourselves Islamic names for instance Yusuf Ali, Shaban Bantariza, Salim Saleh, What if Milton Obote arrested you and claimed you were Muslims? he queried referring to the names adopted by some of the NRA bush war fighters.

Nakibinge was speaking at the swearing-in of the new Supreme Mufti Muhammad Shaban Galabuzi at Kibuli Mosque in Kampala.

He noted that it is unfortunate that the suspects have been killed during the time of arrest hence denying them the right to fair hearing.

"I wish to pray to all Ugandans to be peace loving, to keep law and order but also pray to the security agencies, please be professional in your work. Extrajudicial systems have no place in this country, it has no place in this world. Lets share the bounties given to us by Allah," he said.

However, security agencies have said they are not targeting anyone because of their religious beliefs in the ongoing operations. They said they are targeting funders and collaborators of ADF terrorist group.

"We want to reiterate that the arrested persons are not targeted for their beliefs, ideology, religion, ethnicity and any other attachment because it would make us appear biased. The public should know that we are only targeting individuals and groups that have engaged or conspired to engage or have facilitated acts of terrorism and other violent crimes against Ugandans," Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, said recently.

Sheikh Galabuzi promised to serve Islam with all his heart and asked Allah for guidance.

“We will not stop at demanding for our properties which were illegally taken and sold, but we also want more possessions. We shall lead with sincerity, we shall listen to advice from our leaders and people to better serve Islam, ”he said.

Galabuzi replaced Sheikh Silman Kasule Ndirangwa who resigned in April this year.