PARLIAMENT .
In what appears to be a good gesture of helping the Muslim Community ,the government has earmarked Shs14 billion to compensate businessman Justus Kyabahwa who court gave a green light to sell off Muslims’ most precious asset -Gaddafi National Mosque at Old Kampala Hill .
This comes after a Shs19 billion debt was slapped against UMSC after their land deal with Kyababwa went bad .
The mosque is also the headquarters of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) , the umbrella body of all Muslim associations in the country .
According to Ms Agnes Kunihira, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Gender, Labour, and Social Development, the government’s decision to step in with a Shs14 billion bailout is meant to settle the legal issue and save the national treasure [mosque] from being auctioned.
This move has brought great relief to the Muslim community and UMSC leadership, especially the embattled Mufti Shaban Mubajje, who has been under a lot of pressure from the Muslim Community who accuse of becoming a land dealer and running down UMSC .
The same religious was supposed to hand over office on March 12 ,2025 after clocking themandatory retirement age of 70 years ,according to UMSC constitution ,but he stayed on , saying he still has a lot of unfinished business .
“The problem began in June 2020, when UMSC sold a 517-hectare ranch in Sembabule District to businessman Justus Kyabahwa for Shs3.584 billion.
The deal, signed by UMSC’s former Secretary General Ramathan Mugalu, Mufti Mubajje, and Council Chairperson Abdulkadir Idi Balonde, required UMSC to hand over the land within 60 days and clear any problems, including a lease from Enterprise Handling Services Limited (ENHAS) which had a 15-year lease until 2028,” Kunihira explained during her presentation of the Ministry of Gender’s 2025/26 budget policy to the Budget Committee recently
The UMSC –Kyabahwa agreement also included a clause that said if Kyabahwa could not access the land within 150 days due to reasons beyond his control, UMSC would have to refund the full amount with a steep 12 percent monthly interest—a rare harsh penalty.
However, Mr Kyabahwa later discovered that the same piece of land had already been sold to another buyer, and his efforts to recover his money hit a dead end after Mubajje and is close associates had already shared the loot .
The businessman took the case to the Commercial Court, where he won and the court allowed the sale of Gaddafi National Mosque to recover the now Shs18.9 billion owed, including four years of accumulated interest.
With public protests growing and the threat of losing a major religious site, the government stepped in with the Shs14 billion bailout to resolve the dispute and protect the mosque.
This implies that Mr Kyabahwa is still demanding a balance of Shs5+billion(including interest) which government may pay in supplementary budget a few months after the passing of the 2025/2026 budget .
The Shs14billion bailout is in additional to Shs2billion the Ministry of Gender gave UMSC a couple of years ago to renovate Gadaffi National Mosque yet an Arab Good Samaritan had just banked rolled the same project .
Eng . Nasir Mugisha , a former member of UMSC general assembly and a strong critic of Mubajje leadership says the said compensation claim to UMSC is a syndicated transaction to swindle public resources under the guise of saving Gaddafi National Mosque .
“ Since people who made the bonus transaction are still around , they should be forced to pay the money to Mr Kyababwa rather than pushing the burden to Ugandan taxpayers . For me a see that as a scheme to steal public resources under the pretext of helping Muslims,” he said
About Gadaffi Nationa Mosque :
It is the largest mosque in East Africa in a country . Completed in 2006, it accommodates up to 15,000 worshipers and can hold another 1,100 in the gallery, while the terrace will cater for another 3,500.
Former Libyan Leaders Col Muammar Gaddafi commissioned the mosque as a gift to Uganda, and for the benefit of the Muslim population. It a tourist attraction and many local and foreign tourists visit Old Kampala to catch a glimpse of the national treasure .