Mubajje, Basajjabalaba clash as UMSC elects new chair

Muslim faithful who congregated for a special session of new Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) on Saturday afternoon were treated an unusual dramatic exchange between Mufti Shaban  Mubajje and businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba as the former made attempts to disqualify the latter, his longtime friend-turned opponent, from vying for the position of council chairperson.
Sheikh Mubajje who, by virtual of his position, is mandated to chair the first session while electing chair and his deputy, said Mr Basajjabalaba was not fit to stand for the position  having been impeached from the same office in 2010.

Qualifications 

Citing the amended 2022 UMSC Constitution as a guiding tool, Sheikh Mubajje said Article 4 (2) stipulates among others, that a candidate has to be nonpartisan or/and not holding any political office, never convicted of any criminal offence under the laws of Uganda or has never been successfully impeached by UMSC at any time, and that the contestants has to be knowledgeable in Islam, and can memorize and/or recite at least 20 surahs (chapters) of the Koran.
It was at this stage that Basajja, as the businessman is fondly known, was tasked to explain circumstances under which he vacated the post he previously occupied. 

In his defense, the businessman vehemently denied being successfully impeached, arguing that the process wasn't conclusive and that is why there was no certified minutes to prove his impeachment.
However, Mubajje disclosed how subsequent deliberations were carried out since he chaired the proceedings that led to Basajja’s impeachment and thus insisted the businessman was disqualified from the race. 

Basajja out 
Pleas by Basajja’s supporters like Sheikh Hatwib Mukuwakika to allow the businessman contest fell on Mubajje’s deaf ears. Basajja then walked out of UMSC conference hall where the elections were being conducted.

Minutes before the election, Sheikh Mubajje first questioned the manner in which the UMSC electoral commission conducted the nominations for both chairperson and deputy, insisting that the process did not follow the new UMSC Constitution.
A furious Mubajje cited Article 4(1) which empowers him to chair the special session of the General Assembly and consequently asked delegates to nominate their preferred candidates which they did.
UMSC electoral commission chairperson, Mr Muhammad Wesswa tried   to defend his actions, arguing that whatever was done was within the law, but he was overruled by Mubajje.

New chairperson elected 

After kicking Basajja out of the race, the exercise continued and delegates elected Prof .Muhammadi Lubega Kisambira as the new chair replacing Luweero bush war veteran and former minister, Hajj Abdul Nadduli. Prof Kisambira, an international health consultant and proprietor of several Nursing and Midwifery schools in both Iganga and Lugazi districts, polled 119 votes followed by Sheikh Kassim Kamugisha, the Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Nakawa Division with 116 votes while Haj Twaha Gwaivu, a city businessman managed to bag 12 votes. Prof. Lubega will serve for four years.
Haj Muzamir Abon from the West Nile region was elected UMSC deputy vice chairperson.

Basajja protested the manner in which he was ejected from the race and has since sought redress in the Kampala Chief Magistrate’s Court, seeking to nullification of the exercise.

Best friends-turned foes!

Both Mubajje and Basajja were once friends but their friendship developed cracks in 2010 when the latter who was the then USMC chairperson convened the assembly and impeached Mubajje accusing him of running down UMSC. A few days later, Mubajje also suspended Basajja accusing him of grabbing UMSC land in Bushenyi District where Kampala International University Teaching Hospital was built.
Despite failure to reclaim his seat as chairperson of UMSC, Basajja remains one of the three members representing Bushenyi Muslim District in the assembly.

Basajja is more known for his business dealings than religious responsibilities and even when he was still chairperson UMSC, a section of Muslims, especially those grounded in Islamic jurisprudence, were uncomfortable seeing him running Muslim affairs.
With election of lower level Muslim leaders and new members of UMSC General Assembly, the focus now shifts to the election of a new mufti when the tenure of incumbent Sheikh Mubajje expires in 2025.