The more a monkey climbs a tree the further it exposes its behind so goes an adage. This is what is happening with the recently disqualified candidate from the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council Chairmanship,Hajj Hassan Basajjabalaba for his prior said atrocities committed in 2010.
Although the DPP Jane Frances Abodo had withdrawn his corruption related charges together with his brother,Lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde of the Legal Brains Trust has given the DPP an ultimatum of upto 20th December to reinstate the same cases short of which the DPP shall be personally held accountable.
“The circumstances of the withdraw are suspicious and not convincing and we want the DPP to resume the same for the suspect’s cases are of public interest at the Anti-corruption court”, Ssemakadde argues.As of yesterday,he was actually back to the Criminal Court courtesy of the agile advocate Isaac Semakadde.
Relatedly,the embattled Basajjabalaba has dragged the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council,His Eminence the Mufti Sheikh Ramathan Mubajje,Omar Mohammed Wasswa (Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission) and the reigning National Chairman,Owek.Al-hajj.Prof.Dr.Dr.Muhamadi Lubega Kisambira to the Civil Division of the High Court.
In his case under Misc.Application No.0700 of 2022,he feigns dissatisfaction with his disqualification as a candidate on the basis in his view that he had not been successfully impeached in 2010 for fraud,illegal sale and mismanagement of several Muslim properties.
There are documents confirming his impeachment by both the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council’s Joint Session and the General Assembly.
During these two key and important sessions,troubled Basajjabalaba himself attended the meetings and even participated in the election of his post-impeachment Chairman that ushered in the late Dr. Balonde.
Indeed a lot of illegalities and self angradisement,bad deals punctuate Basajjabalaba’s name with UMSC todate.
During his reign as UMSC Chairman,UMSC dubiously lost prime Plots 30 and 32 on William street and todate no convincing explanation has been given to the faithfuls as regards their precious and strategic properties.
It’s on record that as the reigning Chairman then,Old Kampala Gaddafi perimeter Wall with over 200 lockups were erected with no accountability to show the revenues accrued from them.
His KIU Ishaka campus is alleged to be occupying part of the over 80 acres of land that originally belonged to the Muslim fraternity.Several commercial buildings donated to Muslims in Ishaka and greater Bushenyi are not accounted for todate.
UMSC also lost over 20 acres of prime land at Queen’s way/Tower and the same has never been accounted for.
In his capacity as the then UMSC Chairman,he was said to have imported close to 29 V8 vehicles in the names of UMSC but ended up registering them in his own name among others.
It’s on record that UMSC manages all City abattoirs but during his reign,these were allegedly personalised as regards slaughter charges from Kampala.
These are among other more than 10 reasons were actually the basis of his impeachment by UMSC emanates from.
While the new team running the show at Old Kampala wants sanity,unity of purpose and accountability,there are those who want a serious forensic audit during his reign to bring the troubled Bushenyi hailing tycoon to book for they believe that its during his era that a lot of prime properties went missing from the UMSC inventory as one cleric noted.
A reliable source on condition of anonymity has it that the Government of Uganda is in advanced negotiations to compensate UMSC with billions of shillings for the properties it owes them or uses and its these monies reportedly making Basajjabalaba fight tooth and nail to come back to the helm and manage again.
“We had decided that let bygones be bygones but with him rushing to civil court for redress its high time we went for him as well because he doesn’t wish Old Kampala well in it’s current strategies aimed at causing development”, a knowledgeable cleric revealed.
Although his civil case seems to be against four defendants,the main target generally is the Mufti of Uganda.Omar Mohamed Wasswa is a known blue eyed boy of Basajjabalaba who,before and during the hotly contested UMSC elections was determined to do whatever it takes to ensure a Hassan win on 3rd December although the Mufti outsmarted them when he quashed their prior prepared ballot papers to their total shock and annoyance.Truth is that the Mohamed Wasswa Omar electoral body could not deliver a credible election to the total satisfaction of the General Assembly given its earlier double standards that they had initially exhibited.
It is indeed alleged that through his cronies Ms Kiyimba and a one Adam Semugabi,Basajjabalaba had Initially compromised the Independent Electoral Commission with a hefty 50 million shillings and a big mansion in Ntinda.
So enterprising were the offers to the commission that Basajjabalaba who apparently actually lacks a UCE and other required qualifications was erroneously though on purpose wrongfully nominated without the commission doing due delligence to ascertain his qualifications.
So laughable that actually on the voting day,the Chairman Umar Weswalla told the assembly that it was not the commissions duty to ascertain qualifications or eligibility for the candidates but would only do so if anyone petitioned them.
Our efforts to reach the new UMSC National Chairman Prof.Muhamadi Lubega were futile as he could neither pick nor return our repeated calls on the ongoings at Old Kampala.
Relatedly,Basajjabalaba was too unreachable for his side of the current impasse.
A known senior cleric who is a member of the Majlis Al Ulama (College of Sheiks ) on condition of anonymity at Gaddafi mosque however, said these are religious issues and appealed for calmness generally.
“In an election,there are winners and losers but in our case,all of us won,UMSC won and so was the General Assembly.I appeal to our faithfuls to promote peace,togetherness and unity as the basis for taking our religion to another level.
He wondered why Basajjabalaba is so bent on being the Chairman of UMSC to the extent of subverting the will of all the approximately 14million Muslim Ugandans through the Courts of Law and ignoring the well established Sharia Courts of the faith he wants to head.
“Why doesn’t he come to the Sharia Courts here,what is he worried of?Can’t he still serve and help Islam and the Ummar without being Chairman or its greed driving him?”said the cleric who is knowledgeable about the ongoings at Uganda’s oldest mosque.
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