Supreme Mufti asks Sheikh Muzaata's family to be calm

RELIGION|MUSLIMS|DEATH

KAMPALA - The Supreme Mufti, Sheikh Siliman Kasule Ndirangwa, has asked the family of the late Sheikh Nuhu Muzaata Batte to stay calm as they recover from his shocking death.

"I appeal to the late Sheikh Muzaata's family to stay calm and stick to the Islamic teachings. His death should not tear the family apart," Ndirangwa said in a telephone interview with New Vision on Thursday (Decemeber 10, 2020).

Ndirangwa's appeal follows a bitter property fight among members of Muzata's family.

"I advise the family to concentrate on praying for him because it is what matters right now. The other issues can be resolved at a later stage in conformity with the Islamic teachings," he said.

Muzaata, who was the Kibuli-based Muslim administration spokesperson and director of dawa, died last Friday at the International Hospital Kampala (IHK) aged 58.

He is said to have succumbed to pneumonia. He was buried at his ancestral home in Kigoogwa Matugga on Bombo Road. 

Muzaata was survived by eight children. During funeral prayers at Kibuli, the family, led by his brother, Haji Musa Kaboyo, told mourners that Sheikh Muzaata was a strong pillar of the family and always found a way to resolve their problems.

"His death has left a vacuum in our lives. He was diabetic and had high blood pressure, which weakened his joints and the general body. Doctors at IHK did their best to save his life, but God decided to take him," Kaboyo said.

In November 2008, Muzaata led a section of the faithful to denounce the Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje and called for his removal for what he called conniving with some officials at the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council to sell off Muslim property. 

Mubajje won the resulting court battle in November 2008, further exacerbating divisions among Muslims.

A section of Muslims, led by Muzaata, denounced him and eventually chose its own Supreme Mufti (Sheikh Zubair Kayongo), in January 2009. When Kayongo died in 2015, they chose Ndirangwa to replace him.