At least two mosques have been closed in Luweero over security concerns.
The two affected places of worship are Masjid Kabir and Masjid Khamis Shafie both in Bombo Town Council, Luweero District.
The Khadhi of Luweero District under the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) Sheikh Ramadhan Mulindwa Nsanja has confirmed the closure.
“Elected leaders of Masjid Kabir (Masjid Noor Bombo) and Masjid Khamis Shafie have been sworn-in and the two Mosques are temporarily closed for security reasons,” Sheikh Mulindwa’s statement reads in part.
The development according to Sheikh Mulindwa, arose from protests staged by a group opposed to the results of the recent National Muslim elections. He claims that members of a clique who opposed those elections have been leading the followers by force, appointing members from their families to all Mosque positions as they vowed to contest the swearing-in ceremonies organized by those who organized those polls.
According to Sheikh Mulindwa, this caused misunderstandings between the two factions. The elected ones have been inviting him as the District Khadhi to witness their swearing-in ceremonies. On the contrary, the opposing faction wrote letters stopping and intimidating the Khadhi’s office.
However, the office of the Khadhi has stood firm and went ahead to swear-in the elected leaders. On Friday, at both Mosques in Bombo, Khadhi Mulindwa traveled to do the same. However, this time round, the occasion triggered ugly scenes characterized by chaos from the opposing side. This prompted Khadhi Mulindwa to swiftly engage the District Security to stop the deterioration of the situation.
Now Khadhi Mulindwa tells Journalists that he has decided to temporarily close the two Mosques until the warring factions resolve their differences. “We call upon the District Security to handle this matter administratively,” Sheikh Mulindwa said.
He added that: “We continue to thank the brave Muslims and congregations of the two Mosques who stood up for the truth, May the Almighty reward you abundantly and enable the new elected Leaders fulfill their duties in their respective positions.”
Contacted for comment about how security is handling this development, Patrick Lule, the Acting Savannah Regional Police publicist had by the time of filing this story neither returned our calls nor replied our text messages.
Early November last year, at a media briefing at Old Kampala Mosque in Kampala the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) electoral commission chairperson, Omar Muhammad Wesswa revealed that at least 14 million Muslims were expected to participate in the Muslim national elections.
He said the actual elections of leaders at various levels that would take place at 15,000 registered Mosques were to be conducted on November 18, 2022, 500 counties on November 22, 2022, and 78 Muslim Districts on November 24, 2022.
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