JINJA– The Mufti of Uganda, His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, returned to his former school—Bugembe Islamic Institute in Jinja City—on Thursday, November 20th, 2025. He was accompanied by the UMSC Secretary General, Hon. Hadji Abbas Muluubya Ssekyanzi, and the UMSC Education Secretary, Sheikh Juma Bakhit Cucu.
They were warmly received by members of the School Board led by Mr. Qutaiba Tariq, the Deputy Director General of the Board of Trustees, together with Principal Sheikh Hatim Numan Wamala, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Bbowa, the Busoga Regional Assistant to the Mufti, Dr. Sheikh Kassimu Idi Balonde, Deputy Kadhi Jinja Muslim District, among others.
The Mufti and his delegation later held a cordial meeting with the school leadership, focusing on the revitalization and future redevelopment of the institute. The engagement, held within the lower primary section premises, lasted several hours.
In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Qutaiba Tariq—one of the children of the institute’s founder, the late Sheikh Abdu Khaliq Tariq of Pakistani ancestry—expressed profound gratitude to the Mufti for honouring their invitation. “When we wrote you a letter seeking an appointment to pay a courtesy visit, we were really humbled when you responded that you instead visit us at school. This gesture demonstrates a high level of leadership,” Qutaiba observed.
Other Board members also expressed their appreciation, including Haj Abdu-Nasser Kiwanuka Kagimu, Director in charge of Administration and Technical Areas, and Principal Sheikh Hatim Numan Wamala. The Principal made a presentation on the current state of affairs, covering learner enrolment, human resource, infrastructure, and the wider school complex. The institute comprises the Tahfiz (Holy Qur’an Memorization Centre), the Madrasa Dinia section for adult Islamic studies, a full primary school with a nursery section, and a secondary section offering both secular and Islamic theology studies, alongside vocational skills such as computer training and soap making.
The sections are led by different heads, including Ms. Haurat Tariq, daughter of the late Sheikh Tariq, who oversees the Primary and Nursery sections.
Responding to inquiries from Sheikh Juma Bakhit Cucu regarding the decline in learner numbers despite the institution’s capacity to host thousands, the Board attributed the drop to several factors. They cited the loss of donors—especially from the Arab world—who once funded free education, accommodation, and meals. “So when the institute introduced the payment of tuition fees, many parents and guardians took away their children claiming the fees were exorbitant, yet they didn’t have the money,” they remarked. They also pointed to increasing competition from newly established schools in the neighbourhood, unlike in the past when Bugembe Islamic Institute was the area’s main educational centre.
The Board further decried challenges posed by unscrupulous individuals, including prominent politicians, who attempted to grab a large portion of the school’s land—leading to a lengthy court case that the institute eventually won.
For his part, Mufti Mubaje reminisced about his days as a student in the mid-1970s, showing the delegation the classrooms he once sat in. He vividly recalled a near-death experience during the 1979 war when advancing Tanzanian forces, misled by anti-Muslim elements, were falsely informed that the school hosted soldiers loyal to the late President Amin and Libyan troops. “So we had to plead with them that it was just a mere school and nothing else, and they were convinced since we also had a Tanzanian national who was one of the teachers,” Sheikh Mubaje recalled.
He also praised the late Sheikh Abdu Khaliq Tariq for his visionary leadership and unwavering support for the institute—even after losing his sight. The Mufti and his hosts later held broader discussions on the institute’s long-term redevelopment and agreed to maintain closer engagements in the near future.
The visit concluded with a luncheon extended to the Mufti and his delegation.
