A section of Muslims under the Lango Muslim Community (LMC) has joined the Kibuli faction under the leadership of Sheikh Shaban Galabuzi, the Supreme Mufti.
The faction which is currently occupying Lira Primary School land is led by Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Balinda as the Supreme Kadhi-Lango. Sheikh Jack Nangoye has been leading the group since 2013, when he was replaced by Sheikh Jack Balinda as the then-acting District Kadhi.
On Sunday, the Maulidi festival that LMC had planned at the Masjid Faizan Madina mosque couldn’t happen because security said it would go against the Ebola Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
But because some invited officials from Kibuli and other members of the Muslim community were already there, Sheikh Balinda took the chance to say that they were leaving Old Kampala and going to Kibuli.
He said that Uganda’s Mufti, Sheik Ramadan Mubajje, broke the UMSC constitution, was corrupt, took bribes, and turned his leadership into a military one.
During his recent tour of Lango, Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, the Grand Mufti of Uganda, ordered that all Muslim properties in Lango must be registered under and managed by UMSC. But Sheikh Balinda turned down the order, saying that the properties at Lira P7 belong to the Lango Muslim Community and not to UMSC.
He told the Lira City security team that they should try to stay neutral instead of taking sides and making things less safe.
Fahad Matovu, the legal officer at the office of the Supreme Mufti, said that the Kibuli faction will offer protection to Muslim faithful under the LMC, who he says have a right to choose where to belong.
Some Lango county sheikhs think that joining the Kibuli faction will end the problems they’ve been having for a long time.
Faridha Okeng, the chairperson of the Lango Muslim Women’s Association, implored the leadership to promote unity and eliminate discrimination, which has been affecting women Muslims.
There are 89 mosques in the Lango sub-region, and 59 of them belong to the LMC. The LMC has now set up an interim management committee that will help the office of the Supreme Kadhi run smoothly.