Big Interview: "Support Museveni if you want more positions in government", Nsereko Mutumba tells Muslims

Muslims have on several times asked the government “to stop looking at them as uneducated and therefore unfit to occupy key positions in government.

In an interview with the Nile Post, Haji Nsereko Mutumba, the newly appointed Resident District Commissioner(RDC) of Kayunga district, said Muslims can only get more key positions in government by supporting the regime.

Excerpts below:

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Congregations upon your appointment as RDC Kayunga district. How is the place so far?

Thank you. The place is okay only that I had spent one and half days only and we got a disaster somewhere in Bbaale otherwise the place is okay. People are friendly but there is a lot of sunshine there mainly in parts of Bbaale and the place is very dry.

The condition of our people, health wise and economically are not well but the government has put in a lot of effort through various projects like Emyooga, Operation Wealth Creation because they are very active there.

Even the elderly people are getting assistance and even youth. So the government has put a lot of effort into uplifting the welfare of the people otherwise much has to be done.

Were you surprised when you heard of this appointment as RDC?

Somehow, but anyway the president knows me and I have been working for the party and he knows what I can do. Anyway I was surprised. I got the information from The Nile Post and I was also informed by my friend. I am very thankful because I served my government. I was serving it informally but now I am serving it formally before I die. I was excited, I thank Almighty Allah and the president for having seen me out of million Ugandans.

What plans do you have for the people of Kayunga and how will you transform their lives?

First of all, sensitising the people because I was told there are a lot of problems emanating from tribal bickering, religious problems and land grabbing.

So,first of all we are going to do sensitisation because Kayunga is part of Uganda. Secondly in our manifesto, we have many objectives as NRM.

We have about five main objectives, we start with security, democracy, patriotism, Pan-Africanism, social transformation,so under those objectives anything can be done.

Muslims have for long accused the regime for not giving them key positions in government. What do you think could be the problem?

For example, if at all you want to be promoted in the army, you have to join the army. Isn’t it? Now you also have to support the government in order to appoint you. What you have to do is to support the government and its objectives.

But at the moment it’s so good because I see for the first time secretary for treasury, Ramadhan Ggoobi, for the last 30 years he is the first{Muslim} to take that position and for permanent secretary so far I think we have now four Muslims. Previous I think it was only one Muslim. When it comes to RDCs, I think there are 20 and if you add on the deputy RDCs there are almost 40 Muslims, that is not bad, we also have to support the president.

In 2019 you accused the NRM government of being unfair to Muslims, what has now changed in your view?

It was like that by then but now there is some improvement, we reminded him {the president} because I have been with this government since 1979. We were among those young people who started UPM.

You remember the late Gadaffi and others? So I think it was unfair for us not to get positions but now so far it is so good. If they give you those key positions it is up to you to use it and fight for your religion. So there is a lot of improvement, then I was complaining and I am still complaining but not very much as I used to because there is a lot of improvement.

 

There has been increasing wrangles among Muslims in Uganda. What are some of the major causes of these fights among the leaders?

Finances, formerly before Idi Amin, Muslims were basically living on Islamic [principles and values] but now these values are based on finances, embezzlement, selling muslim property, those are clear and you normally hear them. Mainly it is accountability and transparency.

You see, whenever there are wrangles, they don’t read the Quran, they don’t translate the Quran, they don’t refer the matter to the Quran. Those are the only problems.

If at all, some of the concerned leaders do accountability to their followers [these issues would have been addressed]. But mainly after being elected they think that the whole religion belongs to them which is not true. You have to account for those who elected you, you have to account for those whom you lead. You don’t personalise leadership, no it is not yours. You have to explain to your people.

Some Muslims accuse President Museveni of being the cause of Muslims disunity by encouraging the formation of the factions. What do you think?

No no no, you heard of [selling] of part of William street, you heard of the selling of other Muslim property, is it Museveni who sold them? For example, can Museveni force me to go to Christianity? All these leaders are educated leaders, they are mature people, how can he [Museveni] force you to do bad things?

In your view what could be the lasting solution to these wrangles among Muslims in Uganda?

I think the main solution is to call the plenary, call all Muslims and sit down in a big room maybe in Namboole to decide their destiny, not some groups to say that now we have united because of ABC, no, no. The religion doesn’t belong to the scholars; it belongs to the ordinary Muslims. It should be us to decide our destiny.

Unity can’t be forced on someone as I told you earlier, you have to do the ideal thing in order to attract people to make unity. Unity is not being forceful, no.

We heard that you were forced to resign from Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. Is it true?

I wouldn’t like to talk about that but there was a new secretary general who came and said 'these are old people, they must go'. So I was among those old people. I saw a letter from the secretary general that according to the UMSC constitution ‘you are supposed to retire, I said ok and I retired’.

They said that we were old but invited other people who are older than us to join the council, so I don’t know the rationale that was used. I don’t know why it was done like that. Good enough I had no problem and I announced that I am no longer the public relations officer of UMSC. By the way it was me who created that office in 2005, it was never there.