Mufti Mubaje calls for unity, love among Lango Muslims
Sheikh Mubaje urged Muslims to remain united, love fellow believers and extend the same love to people of other religions.
The Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, addressing Muslims during the Mawlid celebration in Lira City on Saturday. (Photos by Joseph Ekol)
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The Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, has called on Muslims in Lango to promote unity, love and development as the community continues to grapple with leadership wrangles.
The call was made on October 3, 2026, during the National Mawlid celebrations held at the Idi Amin Mosque in Lira city, which attracted hundreds of Muslim believers from across the region and key leaders of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC).
Sheikh Mubaje officiated at the colourful ceremony and urged Muslims in the region to uphold the peace brought by the Government while promoting love and unity among themselves.
He said that, as taught in the Quran by Prophet Muhammad, love is a true description of a devoted Muslim believer.
He urged Muslims to remain united, love fellow believers and extend the same love to people of other religions.
On the leadership wrangle in Lango, Sheikh Mubaje said the Supreme Council was not ready to appoint a district khadi for the region, and that the five sheikhs he recently appointed would continue leading the region.
Mufti Mubaje presenting a trophy to the Mataali team from Kampala after winning the competition
“I am not in a hurry to give you another leadership; the five people I have appointed should continue. The one who is unable to continue, you drop out,” Mufti Mubaje noted.
He said the five sheikhs were equal and should share the leadership without one looking down on another.
Mufti Mubaje said he could not make changes to the Muslim leadership in the region because he had been trying, but repeatedly, “it has become something to play around with”.
According to Mubaje, the leadership confusion in Lango is partly triggered by property wrangles.
On property wrangles
The mufti said he would return to Lira city and stay for a week to handle matters concerning Muslim properties, including land that has been encroached upon.
He said his purpose for returning would be to recover land whose boundaries had been encroached upon and assess whether the kiosks and income generated from them were benefiting the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, like those at Old Kampala, or not.
“That small contribution from those kiosks, kisanda, parking and washing is the cause of confusion,” he said.
Muhamed Ali Aluma, the deputy secretary general in charge of finance and administration at the UMSC, called on Muslims in Lango to remain united. He encouraged district and regional Muslim leaders to desist from infighting and focus more on development.
He said there were tangible developments in Arua, Mbarara, Soroti and other regions, but that Muslim districts in Lango continued to face challenges, including land matters that are in court.
Masud Obedi Obedi, the mobiliser of the Mawlid celebration, said he was optimistic that the event would restore unity and togetherness among the Muslim community in Lango.