Imams' body, UMSC clash over President Museveni's Hajj offer

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A row has erupted between the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) and the National Association of Imams and Duat of Uganda over President Yoweri Museveni’s Hajj program.

Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, a mandatory religious duty for muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake it, and it is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is expected to take place between June 4 to 9 this year.

This year, Uganda was allocated 1,700 slots by Saudi Arabia, according to Sheikh Zakariyah Kyewalyanga, the chairperson of the Uganda Bureau of Hajj Affairs (UBHA).

Sheikh Saidi Kasawuli, the chairman of the National Association of Imams and Duat of Uganda, argues that it is them who requested President Museveni to sponsor Imams for Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) annually, but now officials at UMSC have taken over the program, yet they are only supposed to supervise the program.

“When we met the President in 2011 at State House in Entebbe, we requested him to sponsor about 20 Imams for pilgrimage to Mecca annually and two years ago, he wrote back to us saying he had accepted our request and increased the number to 100 Imams. However, he indicated that UMSC will approve the list we would have generated. However, UMSC has deviated from this and instead wants us to share the slots with it equally, something we oppose,” Kasawuli said.

Speaking during a press conference at Masjid Kabunga in Kalerwe, Kampala on April 8, 2025, Kasawuli explained that the National Association of Imams and Duat of Uganda is an independent umbrella body that brings together Imams across the country regardless of their leadership affiliation.

Kasawuli argues that if UMSC fully takes charge of the program, it means Imams that subscribe to other muslim groups, such as the office of the Supreme Mufti at Kibuli or the Tabliq community, among others, will be left out, which he argues conflicts with the goal of the President.

“We request the State House to intervene in this matter because it will be unfortunate to leave out Imams that have been waiting since 2011 because they don’t subscribe to UMSC leadership,” Kasawuli said.

Kasawuli also accused UMSC officials of selling the slots, yet they are supposed to be free of charge.

Kasawuli thanked President Museveni for loving muslims and urged muslims to vote for him in the forthcoming elections.

“As a country, we are blessed to have President Museveni and we should continue voting for him until he retires,” Kasawuli said.

UMSC speaks out

When contacted, Muhammad Ali Aluma, the UMSC deputy secretary general in charge of social affairs, confirmed the program but he said they agreed with the Imams’ association to share the slots equally, whereby it identifies 50 Imams and UMSC also identifies 50 for the program.

“We had a meeting, and the final position was that we share them equally. For us, we have already told our regional kadhis to identify five people in their respective regions for this program, and a list has been compiled, and we are only waiting for their list. Sheikh Kasawuli is the problem because it seems he wants to take advantage of this program.

I urge them to produce a list of 50 Imams rather than engaging in unproductive talk. He wants the majority of the Imams to come from Kampala, but how many votes does the President get from Kampala? We recently had a by-election in Kawempe. How many votes did NRM get? So, we have to put this into consideration,” Aluma said.

Commenting on the same matter, UMSC spokesperson Ashraf Zziwa Muvawala said Imams should register with UMSC to stand a chance of benefiting from the program because the National Association of Imams and Duat of Uganda is not a department of UMSC but an individual organisation.