Mufti Mubajje sued over sale of Muslim property

As was widely expected, Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubajje has been dragged to court for alleged fraud in connection with the sale of prime Muslim land located in the midwestern district of Sembabule.

At the heart of the suit is a Shs19 billion debt allegedly owed to Lyantonde-based businessman Justus Kyabahwa and the looming sale of several pieces of highly valued real estate belonging to the Muslim community.

The head of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) alongside his former secretary general, Hajji Ramadhan Mugalu and other council leaders are alleged to have accepted corrupt inducements to sell the Sembabule property. It is this now disputed sale which led to the contentious Shs19 billion affair.

These individuals allegedly received the inducements from Mr Kyabahwa to execute an agreement on June 24, 2020, in blatant breach of trust and fiduciary duty -- to the detriment of the Muslim community.

In the case filed yesterday before the High Court in Kampala, the Uganda Muslim Lawyers Association Limited are seeking a court declaration that the agreement executed purportedly on behalf of the UMSC was illegal. 

The Muslim lawyers say the illegality arises in as far as it contained payment of interest, which is prohibited by Sharia Law (Quran and Sunnah), the foundational instrument governing UMSC affairs.

“A declaration that the impugned agreement between the first and fourth defendants (UMSC and Kyabahwa) orchestrated through collusion, connivance, deceit, fraud and a premeditated and coordinated scheme involving the second, third and fourth defendants, was tainted with illegality and was to the detriment of the first defendant and the wider Muslim community who are members of the first defendant and is therefore null and void and unenforceable,” read the court documents.

Court is also being asked to declare that the filing and prosecution of an earlier matter between Mr Kyabahwa and UMSC was a coordinated and fraudulent litigation scheme.

Allegations

Allegedly, the scheme was orchestrated by Mr Kyabahwa in collusion with the council leaders who were purporting to legitimise the fraudulent and illegal transaction supported by the impugned agreement for the Sembabule land.

As such, through Nalukoola Advocates, the Muslim lawyers have filed for a declaration that an application for and obtaining the attachment of UMSC properties is illegal.

Among the properties due for auction is the grand Gaddafi National Mosque. The Muslim lawyers, however, say this cannot happen since the looming auction is the consequence of a corrupt and illegal scheme allegedly perpetrated by Mubajje, Mugalu and Kyabahwa to procure the disposal of UMSC assets.

“A declaration that the second and third defendants in their capacity as officers of the first defendant, deliberately refused and or failed to implement the constitutional directives regarding the first defendant’s properties with the apparent intention of providing their accomplice, the 4th defendant in the fraudulent scheme, ample time to execute their joint fraudulent plan through the purported court attachment, thereby causing detriment to the first defendant (UMSC) and the Muslim community in Uganda,” the court document reads.

The Muslim lawyers seek a further declaration that Mr Kyabahwa was not a bona fide purchaser of the Sembabule land for value without notice and that any liability arising from or loss suffered by any party due to the impugned agreement shall be borne by Mubajje, Mugalu and Kyabahwa.

They also want an order restraining Mubajje, Mugalu and Kyabahwa from engaging in any further dealings with the property of UMSC.   

It is alleged that Sheikh Mubajje’s position constitutes a blatant violation of his fundamental religious function and duty to UMSC and the entire Muslim community in Uganda.