Mubajje supporters remanded
Jun 25, 2009
COURT in Mbarara on Wednesday remanded six supporters of the Mufti, Sheik Shaban Mubajje, for allegedly vandalising community property during the visit by rival Mufti Zubair Kayongo to the district.
By Fred Turyakira
COURT in Mbarara on Wednesday remanded six supporters of the Mufti, Sheik Shaban Mubajje, for allegedly vandalising community property during the visit by rival Mufti Zubair Kayongo to the district.
The court, presided over by Chief Magistrate Baker Rwatooro, remanded the accused to Kakiika Government Prison until next Friday.
The suspects, charged with arson, had appeared in the court to seek bail.
The accused were Abbas Serwada, Wilson Katureebe, Hassan Rajjabu, Ahmed Gayiira, Mohammed Mponye and Sheikh Muhammed Karunzi.
It is alleged that on May 22, the men allegedly from Kampala and others from Mbarara, burnt tents belonging to the Nyamitanga Muslim community.
They also stormed the area mosque and beat up the organisers of the function in an effort to block Kayongo’s visit.
However, Kayongo arrived after the fracas in a convoy of over 40 vehicles and motorcycles and was received by his supporters at Rwizi Hotel.
The magistrate said the file of the accused was still with officials from the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The directorate sanctioned the file after some of suspects complained about the charges brought against them.
Muslims opposed to Mubajje in January named Kayongo, an Islamic scholar, as their own leader (Mufti). The election of Kayongo, 75, was a culmination of a legal and religious stand-off following accusations that Mubajje fraudulently sold off plots on William Street and Port Bell Road in Luzira belonging to the Muslims.
The conflict ended up in the court, with Mubajje, city businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba and former secretary general Edris Kasenene facing criminal charges.
The trio was acquitted by court.
But the anti-Mubajje faction rejected the court ruling and vowed to name its own Mufti.
COURT in Mbarara on Wednesday remanded six supporters of the Mufti, Sheik Shaban Mubajje, for allegedly vandalising community property during the visit by rival Mufti Zubair Kayongo to the district.
The court, presided over by Chief Magistrate Baker Rwatooro, remanded the accused to Kakiika Government Prison until next Friday.
The suspects, charged with arson, had appeared in the court to seek bail.
The accused were Abbas Serwada, Wilson Katureebe, Hassan Rajjabu, Ahmed Gayiira, Mohammed Mponye and Sheikh Muhammed Karunzi.
It is alleged that on May 22, the men allegedly from Kampala and others from Mbarara, burnt tents belonging to the Nyamitanga Muslim community.
They also stormed the area mosque and beat up the organisers of the function in an effort to block Kayongo’s visit.
However, Kayongo arrived after the fracas in a convoy of over 40 vehicles and motorcycles and was received by his supporters at Rwizi Hotel.
The magistrate said the file of the accused was still with officials from the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The directorate sanctioned the file after some of suspects complained about the charges brought against them.
Muslims opposed to Mubajje in January named Kayongo, an Islamic scholar, as their own leader (Mufti). The election of Kayongo, 75, was a culmination of a legal and religious stand-off following accusations that Mubajje fraudulently sold off plots on William Street and Port Bell Road in Luzira belonging to the Muslims.
The conflict ended up in the court, with Mubajje, city businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba and former secretary general Edris Kasenene facing criminal charges.
The trio was acquitted by court.
But the anti-Mubajje faction rejected the court ruling and vowed to name its own Mufti.