Uganda: 12th Muslim imam killed in two years

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda

Another Ugandan imam was gunned down on Tuesday night while on his way home, as questions linger on who is behind Muslim killings in the country.

Uganda police spokesman Fred Enanga told Anadolu Agency that Sheikh Ibrahim Hassan Kirya’s was killed. 

“We have a murder and we don’t have a motive or suspect, but we have commenced inquiries into the whole matter,” Enanga said. “He was shot in front of a fruit stall where he was buying fruits in Bweyogerere, a Kampala suburb.”

Hassan Kirya is the third Muslim imam to be gunned down in less than seven months in the same manner after being trailed by motorcyclists commonly known as boda boda’s.

This brings the total number of Muslim leaders killed in Uganda in the past two years to 12.

After back to back killings of Muslim imams in Uganda, police promised to provide them with security and among those guarded was Sheikh Hassan Kirya.

“When he was killed, he had just parted ways with his bodyguard whom he offered to drop at the Special Investigations Unit and the assailants who must have been trailing him took advantage and shot him,” Enanga said. 

Al Hajji Muhammad Kisambira, secretary general of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, was  not satisfied with the police’s efforts.

Similar attacks have taken place in neighboring Kenya, with a number of Muslim scholars killed, most notably in Mombasa. 

In June 2014, Sheikh Mohammed Idris was gunned down by unknown assailants.

In April of the same year, Sheikh Abubakar Shariff, an outspoken Muslim imam popularly known as "Makaburi", was also killed in Mombasa.

“The last time the Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kaihura came here he said it was members of the Allied Democratic Forces that are behind these killings, but we have not seen anyone linked to the ADF brought before court,” he said. “Justice delayed is justice denied, this has left us as Muslims even more scared.”