Who killed Muslim cleric?

By Eddie Ssejjoba

The Inspector General of Police, Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura, has set up a special team of detectives to probe the murder of a top Muslim cleric, Sheikh Abdul Karim Ssentamu.

Ssentamu, 52, was on Friday shot twice in the chest with a pistol at about 9:30pm by unidentified assailants as he left a mosque on William Street in the city centre.

No suspect has so far been arrested over the murder that left the Muslim community shaken. Muslims and close confidants of the slain cleric are still puzzled as to the motive of the killers. Ssentamu was gunned down soon after preaching at the Masjid Noor Mosque.

According to the Police, a man dressed in a black Muslim cap approached Ssentamu at the junction of William and Ben Kiwanuka streets, and saluted him in the name of Allah.

The man then pulled out a pistol and shot Ssentamu twice. He died on arrival to Kibuli Hospital. Police spokesperson Asuman Mugyenyi said no arrests had been made yet but the murder is being handled as a special case given Ssentamu’s status.

Sheikh Ssentamu is survived by two wives Hadija Ssentamu and Nuulu Nalwoga and four children. According to his elder son, Shafik Ssentamu, his father was arrested in 1998 after he was accused of being a rebel of the Allied Democratic Front (ADF).

He was released in 2000 under government amnesty and went into exile in the UK, fearing for his life. Sources within the Muslim community suspect that Ssentamu could have been eliminated by ADF remnants.

They said Muslim clerics, who previously belonged to ADF and were granted amnesty, have been targeted by ADF. Shafik said his family was living in fear and needed protection as they did not know the motive of the killers. He said his father had complained that his life was in danger but had not named anybody as being after him.

Shafik, however, ruled out Ssentamu’s death being in connection to ADF, saying his father left the ADF a long time ago.