UMSC threatens to sue former Mubaje assistant for defamation

The secretary general of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) Ramadhan Mugalu, has threatened to sue Sheikh Abdulazziz Hussein, the former Northern Muslim Region Assistant to the Mufti over defamation.

Recently, the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje sacked Sheikh Abdulaziz Hussein for failing to coordinate Muslims in the region.

He claimed that Hussein didn’t raise to the expectations of the appointing authority as he miserably failed to organise and coordinate Muslim leaders under his jurisdiction.

Mugalu said that ever since his ouster, Hussein has been circulating malicious messages of several media platforms with the aim of damaging his reputation, the personal image of the Mufti and UMSC as an institution.

Addressing journalists on the Muslim state of affairs during the monthly media briefing in his office at the UMSC headquarters in Old Kampala, Mugalu gave a brief background on how Hussein was appointed as the Mufti's assistant on acting basis since he lacked the requisite academic qualifications, a degree in Sharia.

He said Hussein only had a Diploma in Islamic Studies.

"Our hands were tied up because he was the only nominee from the Northern Region and the fact is that the region lacks qualified Sheikhs. He was taken in on condition that he was to pursue a degree in Sharia and the Mufti gave him a bursary to study at the UMSC based Islamic Call University College (ICUC) which he readily accepted," he told the media.

He explained that they later discovered that Hussein was a committed businessman commuting between Kampala and Juba in Southern Sudan and had no time for official UMSC work yet he had an office and received a salary and an official vehicle.

Mugalu claimed that Hussein later teamed up with a clique of Muslims to illegally take control of UMSC properties in the region, adding that he personally took control of Juba market, which sits on UMSC land in Lira City.

Upon his sacking, Mugalu said he has been shamelessly spreading malicious information in Kampala that the Mufti and Secretary General have sold cemeteries in Gulu and Lira.

Mugalu noted that there are wide spread moves by some individuals including local government officials scheming to grab UMSC land in different areas of the country, which has compelled UMSC to fight off the grabbers.