Death of a sheikh in Uganda resurrects demands on cold case murders
KAMPALA — After three different recent deaths of Muslim leaders in Uganda, some are questioning whether the men died of natural causes or foul play.
Sheikh Nuhu Muzaata. Creative Commons image.
Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala, the former Mayor of Kampala, died on Sep. 26 after announcing his intention to run for office again. Dr. Abdu Anas Kaliisa, a prominent Muslim scholar, died on Nov. 4. And then Sheikh Nuhu Muzaata, known as a leader who spoke truth to power to fight government corruption, died Dec. 4 at age 58.
Muzaata’s death stirred a national mourning, even though less than 14% of Ugandans are Muslim. Most Ugandans admired him, and those few who loathed him did so because his remarks were scathing attacks on them.
Muzaata’s family said he died of natural causes after struggling with diabetes and general weakness. For several days before his death, Muzaata lay in Uganda’s International Hospital in Kampala.
But some mourners rejected the family’s reasons for the cause of his death. Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi (who also goes by Bobi Wine) said the death of Muzaata was suspicious. He called for a thorough police investigation.
“The death of Muzaata (I am sorry to say) is not what we are being told, I am certain even the family has received a call from some ‘big man’ to scare them into saying what they are saying today,” said Kyagulanyi, President Yoweri Museveni’s main challenger in the race for the country’s presidency. “It is only logical that a responsible police would have already launched a thorough investigation into his death, to rule out foul play.”
Muzaata had reportedly appeared on the hit list of an unknown squad that kills sheikhs in Uganda.
At one point after a Muslim sheikh was killed in the country by the group, Muzaata asked prominent Muslim figures who had armed police bodyguards to send them back to the government and buy themselves machetes to privately manage their security. He later withdrew the statement after the then army commander, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, assured him that the state would tighten security for sheikhs. Even then, assailants have continued to kill sheikhs.
Sebaggala, who was 72 years old at the time of his death in September, had been a key opposition politician in Uganda and had just declared his intention to contest the mayor’s office in the capital in next year’s general election, when he suddenly fell sick and died. His family said Sebaggala died of an intestinal obstruction after he collapsed in a bathroom at his home. During Sebaggala’s funeral prayers, Muslim leaders described his death as a big blow to their community. Speakers noted that Sebaggala had helped many Muslims secure lucrative jobs and business opportunities.
Kaliisa, the former Secretary of the Eminent Council of Sheikhs of Uganda and chairman of the Muslim Jurist Uganda, collapsed and died shortly after arriving at his home from work. He was 69 years old. The cause of his death remains unclear.
Muslims in Uganda have long felt marginalized and advocated for more Muslims to occupy high profile political offices.
The government has previously accused some Muslim leaders of supporting terrorism activities within the country, leading to the arrest and prosecution of some. Meanwhile, the Muslim leaders accuse the government of selectively targeting them.
A decade ago, another prominent Muslim in Uganda claimed he had been poisoned by state mafias while serving as a parliamentarian. Hajji Hussein Kyanjo, the former Makindye West Member of Parliament in Kampala, said he was poisoned when he became too vocal demanding the government disclosure oil documents and sharing agreements in 2010. Kyanjo told the media that as a result of the poisoning, he lost his voice, which later forced him to leave parliament.
In addition, in the last ten years, 12 Muslim sheikhs have been shot and killed in Uganda.
At the burial of Muzaata, Kyagulanyi and other speakers asked police to release the reports of the investigations into the deaths of these 12 sheikhs. Although dozens of suspects were arrested following each of the killings, no one has been convicted for the murders. The police said whenever a new sheikh is gunned down, they will find the culprits.
Hajji Nsereko Mutumba, a former spokesperson of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, told Religion Unplugged that the only way the police can build confidence among Muslims is by releasing their investigation reports into the murders of the sheikhs. But the police have remained silent about the reports.
The latest sheikh to be killed was Masoud Mutumba. The assailants shot him at his home in the eastern district of Iganga in February. Mutumba was the imam of the region.
Other prominent sheikhs killed include Sheikh Karim Sentamu, a Muslim scholar shot dead in April 2012; Abdul Kadir Muwaya, a Shiite leader gunned down at his home in eastern Uganda; Sheikh Abdulrashid Wafula, killed in eastern Uganda in 2015; Sheikh Ibrahim Hassan Kirya killed in 2015 while returning home after work; and Sheikh Maj. Muhammad Kiggundu killed in Kampala in 2016.
Some suspects in the murders of the sheikhs have been taken to court with serious torture marks inflicted on them, as the police allegedly try to force confessions out of them.
John Semakula is a Kampala-based correspondent for Religion Unplugged. He also reports for New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper.