Soldier, sheikhs row over naming mosque after Amin

A top Muslim leader in Lango Sub-region has reported a case against a retired senior army officer accusing him of threatening to kill him for naming a new local mosque after former president Idi Amin Dada.

The district Khadi of Lango, Sheikh Salim Nagoye, claimed his life is in danger following threats from Col Tony Otoa.
Col Otoa is a retired senior army officer of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

A case of threatening violence against Col Otoa was reported to Lira Central Police Station on December 4. The secretary general of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) in Lango, Sheikh Fadhil Oguta, alleges that the Khadi received a threatening phone call from Col Otoa.

In his December 2 letter to the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) 2, Mr Oguta alleged Col Otoa ordered the district Khadi to change the name of the mosque within two days and in default he would be “beheaded”.

“We have since recorded our statement with police in regard to the threatening violence made on the life of the district Khadi by Col Otoa,” Mr Oguta told Daily Monitor on Tuesday.

He appealed to the RDC to intervene and address the matter with utmost seriousness.

When contacted, Col Otoa confirmed that he called the district Khadi to warn him against naming the mosque after Amin. He said the late Amin does not deserve to be honoured for anything good because of the atrocities he committed in Lango and Uganda generally during his military rule.

“Naming that beautiful mosque Idi Amin Dada is an abomination. Amin does not deserve any recognition for his atrocities in Lango. Even Hitler who caused the Second World War his name is never on any street in Germany,” Col Otoa said on Tuesday.

The Lira District police commander, Mr George Obia, told Daily Monitor on Thursday that the police are investigating the matter.
“We have summoned Col Otoa but the complainants have already recorded statement,” he said.

The late president Amin launched the construction of Lira Main Mosque in 1975 during his visit to Lango Muslim District Supreme Council.

However, the construction works stalled after his overthrow in 1979.

Sheikh Nagoye said a group of Turkish Muslims had visited Lira and offered to finance the completion of the mosque. Construction works at the mosque were commissioned to resume by the Mufti of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Sheikh Shaban Mubajje late last month.