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Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and her husband, Moses Magogo, have held an Islamic ceremony to give thanks to God for the gift of twin boys.

Among took to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, February 1, to say that she and her husband were honoured to host their leaders in faith, colleagues and friends to the Aqeeqah (Aqiqah) of their sons at home in Nakasero, Kampala.

“We are sincerely grateful and ask Allah to accept our prayers and bless us all,” she said, posting some pictures of the ceremony.

(Courtesy Photo)

The Speaker, who is also Bukedea Woman MP, and her husband, who represents Budiope East in the House and also doubles as the president of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations, were blessed with twins on October 23, 2023, at a hospital in Kampala.

The couple also cut two cakes to mark the occasion on Thursday. 

(Courtesy photo)

Some members of the Bagagga Kwagalana group, which brings together Kampala’s tycoons, also attended the ceremony. They included Godfrey Kirumira, Hamis Kiggundu and Sudhir Ruparelia.

(Courtesy photo)

Aqiqah is the Islamic tradition of the sacrifice of an animal to mark the occasion of a child’s birth. It is traditionally carried out on the seventh day although it can take place any time before the child hits puberty.

The meat of the slaughtered animal in this celebration is distributed to relatives and neighbours and also given to the poor.

Reports say many Muslims view Aqiqah as desirable, but some see it as compulsory. The baby is often named after one of the prophets or one of the great men or women of early Islam.

It is also common for boys’ names to follow the pattern ‘servant of’ plus one of the 99 names of Allah.