The Mufti of Uganda, His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, has inaugurated the newly created Zombo Muslim District in West Nile, formally giving the Muslim community in the area its own administrative structure. The inauguration was held on Friday, October 2, 2026, in Warr Town Council, Zombo District, near the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo border.
The Mufti was accompanied by the Second Deputy Mufti, His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Hafiz Muhammad Harunah Bukenya; UMSC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration, Counsel Haj Muhammad Ali Aluma; Secretary for Religious Affairs, Sheikh Imran Ssali; and Sheikh Abdul-Karim Abdallah Katamba, Head of the UMSC Halal Department and Regional Assistant to the Mufti for Ankole-Kigezi.
The delegation was welcomed on Thursday evening by large crowds of Muslims and people from other faith communities during the Mufti’s first visit to Warr. Among those who welcomed the delegation were Sheikh Mahdie Mahmood Raihan, Regional Assistant to the Mufti for West Nile; Sheikh Abdul-Azziz Qaasim Al Kuriy, the host Kadhi; senior army officer Gen. Dick Olum and other government leaders.
On Friday, hundreds of Muslims, including schoolchildren, joined the Mufti and his delegation on a tour of UMSC facilities in the area. The facilities visited included Warr Islamic Health Centre II, Warr Islamic Primary School and Daru Habib Islamic Nursery and School. The delegation also visited a historic building that once served as the home and shop of Sheikh Sharif Said, a Muslim scholar originally from Mombasa, Kenya.
Sheikh Sharif Said is remembered as one of the first Muslims to settle in the area and played a significant role in spreading Islam, which has since grown into a sizable Muslim community. The Mufti later joined hundreds of Muslims and other guests who had gathered for the inauguration ceremony under tents erected in the courtyard of the main mosque.
Counsel Hadad Salim, the UMSC Independent Electoral Regional Commissioner for West Nile, formally announced the creation of Zombo Muslim District and the appointment of its first Kadhi, saying the administrative changes had been made in accordance with the UMSC Constitution. In his inaugural address, Sheikh Abdul-Azziz expressed gratitude to the Mufti for granting Zombo Muslim District status, noting that the area had previously been administered under Nebbi. “We have been given the administrative identity we had waited for a long time. So, we must now build the institution that this identity deserves,” Sheikh Abdul-Azziz said, while calling for support to strengthen the new district.
Several government and community leaders attended the ceremony, including Members of Parliament Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny, Topista Acamfua and Gabriel Okumu; Oyulu Oruna James; Resident District Commissioner Ayikobuwa Festos; Gen. Dick Olum; and a representative of the Alur Kingdom.
The leaders pledged to work closely with the new Zombo Muslim District leadership.
Sheikh Mahdie Mahmood Raihan briefed the gathering on the state of affairs of Muslims in the West Nile region, while Counsel Aluma gave an update on developments at the UMSC headquarters.
The Mufti, addressing the gathering in Swahili, thanked Muslims and other residents of Zombo for the warm reception and reflected on the challenges the UMSC faced before he assumed office, as well as efforts undertaken to strengthen and restore the institution.
He also thanked the government, local leaders and the wider Zombo community for embracing interfaith cooperation and working together to promote peaceful coexistence.
The Mufti further responded positively to several requests raised by local leaders, including the urgent need for a Muslim secondary school in the area.
He also pledged to support efforts to operationalise other newly created Muslim districts in West Nile.
Before leaving Zombo, the Mufti and his delegation were hosted to a luncheon by Gen. Olum at his newly established three-star hotel.
As a gesture of goodwill, Gen. Olum named one of the hotel’s wings and one of its cottages after the Mufti. The facilities are intended to accommodate Muslim guests in accordance with Islamic values and norms.
The Mufti and his delegation later left Zombo for Lira City in northern Uganda.