Kampala, Uganda - OVER 500 Muslim Sheiks yesterday convened what they called a "Sharia Court" and tried, convicted and sentenced Mufti Sheik Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje over the fraudulent disposal of Muslim property under his custody.
The court prohibited Mubajje from going to any mosque anywhere in the world. It also condemned him to hell for reportedly committing 'Haram' (sins) against the Muslim community.
The court, the first of its kind in Uganda, was presided over by Uganda's ambassador to Iran Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Kisuule. The Muslim clerics came from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Egypt.
The court said it based its ruling on the Koran and the Hadith (Sayings of Prophet Muhamad) relating to management of endowments (Awkafu) for the Muslims. Mubajje was not invited to defend himself before the court that was convened by the Islamic Cultural Association, which is mainly composed of Muslim clerics opposed to Mubajje.
No formal charges were levelled against Mubajje. Instead, when the court started its sitting at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Hajji Muhammad Kisambira, a former executive member of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, briefed the clerics on the mismanagement and sale of the Muslim property.
Kisambira cited the judgment by the Buganda Road Court chief magistrate that stated that though Mubajje did not commit a fraud, he had repeatedly lied to the Muslims that their property had not been sold. The property included plots 13 and 102 on William Street in Kampala. One of the plots has a mosque.
Kisambira also presented the 2006 probe report that found that the plots had been sold. The report recommended the sacking of Mubajje and two other UMSC officials, Hassan Basajjabala and Dr. Edris Kasenene.
After the presentation, Kisule interpreted the provisions in the Koran relating to a person who sells or misappropriates Muslim property under his custody.
"There is no one who is more deceitful than one who denies Muslims an opportunity to worship, more so when that person makes attempts to dispose of a mosque," Kisule observed, adding that "such a person is condemned to hell and is prohibited from entering any mosque for the rest of his life."
A Muslim endowment, he said, must not be leased, given away or bequeathed by the custodian. Such property is to be used for glorifying Allah and promoting Islam.
"A person who sells, leads to a destruction of a mosque, has cheated Islam, loses respect among Muslims, has no moral authority to stand before them and address them, and it is incumbent on Muslims to spread hatred against him," Kisule explained.
Following Kisule's submission, the visibly angered Sheiks lamented that the youth were letting down the struggle for Islam. Some called for the immediate election of a new Mufti. However, the court said the new Mufti would be announced before January 31.
After day-long deliberations, the 567 sheiks passed several resolutions, denouncing Mubajje.
They also resolved to write to the Government, all embassies and Muslim countries informing them that Mubajje was no longer the Mufti of Uganda.
The sheiks were particularly concerned by Chief Magistrate Margaret Tibulya's exposition in her ruling that Mubajje had repeatedly lied.
Contacted yesterday, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council director of Sharia, Sheik Hussein Rajab Kakooza said: "Though we are mandated by the Koran to convene a Sharia court when things go astray, I don't think that was a Sharia court. It might have been a meeting by knowledgeable sheiks to compare what each knows on such matters," Kakooza said.
Muslim supreme council spokesperson Hajji Nsereko Mutumba, said Uganda was a secular state and not governed under Islamic law.
"If they derive their authority from the Koran, why didn't they resolve the matter using the Koran instead of going to court? That is Amarula drama. They can do whatever they want. For us, we are not bothered," Mutumba said.
MP Abdul Katuntu, a Kampala lawyer, also said although the Sharia court was permissible under the Ugandan Constitution, it had not yet been formally constituted.