The National Chairperson of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC), Prof Muhammadi Lubega Kisambira, has declined a request to convene a special General Assembly sitting.
The petition, led by Sheikh Musa Muyinda, the suspended Lubaga Muslim District representative, was submitted by a small group of Assembly members.
Muyinda is among five members suspended by the Muslim House since November 2023.
In a letter dated March 7, 2025, addressed to Muyinda, Prof. Lubega cited legal opinions from the UMSC legal department and other legal experts, stating that the petition was “ill-conceived, premature, and in violation of the UMSC constitution.”
He noted that the request aimed to spark unnecessary debates regarding the tenure of the incumbent Mufti, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, whose term runs until March 12, 2025.
Prof. Lubega further explained that he had already instructed the UMSC Director of Sharia, Dr. Sheikh Ziyad Swaleh Lubanga, to initiate the necessary constitutional processes for the Mufti’s succession.
According to the UMSC constitution, the Majlis Al Ulama, under the leadership of the Director of Sharia, is responsible for vetting and electing a Mufti when the position becomes vacant.
The petitioners were the same group that attempted to remove Mufti Mubaje in December 2023.
They illegally convened a special sitting and claimed to have impeached Mubaje, Prof. Lubega, members of the Joint Session, and departmental heads effectively seeking to overthrow the entire UMSC administration.
However, Justice Dr. Douglas Singiza later nullified this move after UMSC challenged an earlier ruling by Justice Farida Shamira Bukirwa Ntambi, which was found to be unconstitutional.
