Muslim leaders have appealed to the government to hold talks with Kampala city traders so as to end the ongoing standoff regarding the implementation of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solutions (EFRIS) system used by the Uganda Revenue Authority’s (URA).
During Eid El-Fitr prayers on Wednesday, Muslim leaders said the government should not look as traders are suffocated by high taxes.
“URA should sit down with the traders because we need taxes. Government should also tone down on wasteful expenditure,” Prince Kassim Nakibinge said while hosting the faithful at his home in Kibuli after the Eid prayers.
The head of the Kibuli Muslim faction, Sheikh Muhammad Galabuzi, said: “We don’t want to see people close businesses six months after paying taxes imposed on them. We need each other.”
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“Both the tax collectors and taxpayers are Ugandans. They should have a roundtable discussion and agree on the way forward that is not detrimental,” he added.
Special prayers were offered during Eid sermons, seeking blessings for the progress and prosperity of the nation, as well as the end of the Israel-Gaza war that has so far claimed about 33,482 lives, including 14,500 children and 9,500 women.
The Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, called on the government to make its position known regarding the situation in Gaza
“We request our government to publicly declare its position on the situation and the status of our brothers and sisters who are enduring immense suffering. This conflict is not just between Palestinians and Israelis; it is an assault on humanity,” he said during prayers at Gaddafi mosque in Old Kampala.
Mubaje emphasised that when children, women, and the elderly are being massacred, it goes beyond being a mere war; it becomes an act of genocide.
“The situation in Palestine is a humanitarian catastrophe. The mindless killings of innocent children, women, and the elderly, along with the bombing of health facilities, are beyond comprehension. It amounts to genocide against the Palestinian people,” he said.
At Nakivubo Blue Primary School, the Secretary General of Tabliqs, Sheikh Jamil Mayego, demanded the release of the Muslim brethren who were arrested during Juma prayers.
He said Muslim brethren are languishing in prisons without proper legal proceedings.
In Lango, Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Balinda, the Supreme Khadi of Lango, reminded that the end of Ramadhan is not the end of doing good deeds ‘because Allah the Most High wants us to continue worshiping Him in every microsecond that we live on this earth.”
“I, therefore, urge you to continue praying the five daily prayers, regularly reading the Holy Quran, giving a lot in charity, sharing and caring for the needy as you have been doing during the holy month of Ramadhan because we are not sure whether we will make it alive to the next Ramadhan,” he said.
He added: “I wish to inform you that laziness and begging have no place in Islam and we don’t encourage it. Muslims should embrace government programmes geared towards economic transformation and take the lead in eradicating poverty among themselves while not forgetting food security.”
