OPINION: Muslims deserve more from the NRM government

By Haji Nsereko Mutumba

The NRM government in general and President Yoweri Museveni in particular have made tremendous contributions towards Islam and Muslims in Uganda.

Many of these contributions speak for themselves. They include the National Mosque at the UMSC Headquarters Old Kampala, the Islamic University in Uganda, King Fahd Plaza, financial contributions towards Muslim initiatives, Hajj sponsorships and ministerial appointments among others.

Muslims have also benefited from the wider government development programs targeting Ugandans at large. These include UPE, USE, peace and security, freedom of worship and health facilities among others. For these, Muslims are grateful.

But following a long and careful fact finding mission, I have come across information that comes as bad news to the Muslim fraternity.

It is the information about the distribution of the ‘National Cake’. The data I have gathered from various government institution i.e. judiciary, National Authorities, National Commissions, Foreign Affairs, local government, Bank of Uganda and various ministries shows a very low Muslim representation.

Having overwhelmingly supported the NRA/M and now NRMO and voted for President Museveni without fear of favour, Muslims should have been considered for more political positions, let alone the ministerial ones.

Now that Muslims have studied and acquired all sort of expertise, thanks to the conducive policies ushered in by the NRM government; the excuse of ‘abasiraamu tebaasoma’ (Muslims never went to school) is no longer valid.

Therefore, could this be an oversight on the side of the appointing authorities or it is a deliberate move to purge Muslims out of the government which they love, and deny them an opportunity to serve a country to which they belong?

My research reveals that;

• None of the KCCA directors – Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, Directors and the nine Deputy Directors is a Muslim, yet Muslims are key stakeholders in KCCA in as far as of business enterprises are concerned.
• Out of the 91 Chief Executives and Accounting Officers of government Parastatals and authorities, only two are Muslims – Haji Kaddunabbi of Uganda Insurance Commission and Mr. Jamil Sewannyana the Chief Executive of Namboole stadium.
• To make matters worse, Muslims are not represented on the various structures of most of the above institutions.

When it comes to Muslim representation in the Judiciary, it is extremely low as summarized in the table below;

Therefore, the above mentioned staff of 177, only 5 are Muslims!!!.

NB:

• The Uganda Judicial Service Commission has no Muslim representation
• The Uganda AIDS Commission has never been headed or chaired by a Muslim since its inception in 1991

Out of the 28 Permanent Secretaries, there is no single Muslim.

At district local government, there are less than 7 Muslim CAOs out of the 112.

The only Muslim on the Bank of Uganda Board Ibrahim Kabanda was replaced by Josephine Okui Ossiya.

The Land Probe Commission chaired by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire has no Muslim representation on both members and staff.

The recently appointed board of the Society of Petroleum Engineers – Uganda has no Muslim representation.

Muslim representation is also very law when it comes to Ambassadors and RDCs.

It is upon this background that I am appealing to His Excellency of the Republic of Uganda Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to look into this matter.

The Equal Opportunity Commission should also do is job because it is clear that Muslims are not getting a fair share of the ‘National Cake’ as we know it.

The writer is the UMSC Spokesperson. He can be reached on 0772409504 or pro.umsc@gmail.com