I will retire soon â€" Mufti Mubajje

Nov 22, 2008

THE Mufti Sheik Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje has said he does not intend to be in office for more than 10 years. He claimed that his stay up to this time is due to some individuals who oppose him.

By Madinah Tebajjukira

THE Mufti Sheik Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje has said he does not intend to be in office for more than 10 years. He claimed that his stay up to this time is due to some individuals who oppose him.

“Abo abantawaanya be bandeetedde okulwa mu buyinza (those disturbing me are the ones making me stay in power),” he said during the Friday prayers at Gadaffi National Mosque in Old Kampala.

“Whenever I plan to step down, problems arise and I cannot go without solving them. But if I had no opponents, I would be now concentrating on my personal business,” he added.

Mubajje was elected on December 11, 2000. If he stands by his words, he will resign in 2011 at the age of 55. The current UMSC constitution allows a Mufti to rule until he is 75 years.

“I said I will not be here for more than 10 years and I mean it. I want the constitutional review commission to embark on their work so that I can forward my views,” Mubajje told followers.
“I have been in the system and I know where the loopholes are and how they can be solved.”

When Mubajje came into office he innitiated a review of the UMSC constitution, but later stalled.
Mubajje also said he did not agree with the judgement that he lied that the Muslim property had not been sold.

However, he asserted that he would not appeal the ruling. He claimed he is a trustworthy and honest leader.

On Monday, court acquitted Mubajje and his co-accused, the UMSC vice chairman, Hassan Basajjabalaba and former secretary general Dr. Edris Kasenene of six charges related to the sale of Muslim property.

Consequently, a section of Muslims opposed to Mubajje, led by sheiks Abdul Hakim Ssekimpi and Nuhu Muzaata announced their intention to appoint their own Mufti. The group has embarked on a search for a Mufti throughout the country.

But Mubajje scoffed at them over their plan accusing them of turning the matter political.

“I am a true religious leader. But the games they (opposers) are playing are purely political and they will not win,” he said amidst chants of (God is great).
Meanwhile there was tight security at the mosque. Everyone was checked by more than two plain-clothed security personnel.

Mubajje said he would soon institute a commission of inquiry to investigate all Muslim property countrywide, with a view of recovering them.

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