National Resistance Movement (NRM) Lubaga Division top mobilizer and also the proprietor of the Busega based King Fahad Islamic primary school is on suicide watch after Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) threatened to auction his school over tax evasion.

Multiple credible sources at King Fahad Islamic primary school revealed to theGrapevine that their boss Sheikh Swaib Ssentomero is a frustrated man and he has intimated to friends that he is tired of his life.

“We are keeping our eyes on his movements, he is very frustrated since URA slapped him with a huge tax pay receipt last month,” a source close to Swaib said.

Sources said that URA told Ssentomero that the government is demanding him taxes worth Shs.400m which he protested but was not helped.

Sources revealed that since then, Ssentomero has been looking for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s young brother Gen. Salim Saleh, senior presidential advisor on security Lt. Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso and other top NRM party bosses for rescue him in vain.

“Yes, I was told about his financial troubles, I will try to see how to help him because he has been our mobilizer,” Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi, the NRM National Vice chairperson Buganda revealed.

However, sources in URA told theGrapevine that the reason why many tycoons are in trouble over tax is because they have not been paying taxes and whenever URA demands for taxes from them, they petition their Godfathers to save them.

The source further explained that this is the reason why their taxes have accumulated to exorbitant amounts which they think are too huge for them to pay.

Efforts to speak to Sheikh Ssentomero were fruitless since his known phone numbers were off.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

The Muslim Tabliq sect have petitioned President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s young brother Gen. Salim Saleh over Mufti Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubajje’s closure of William Street Mosque in Kampala.

Led by sheikh Fahad Kalungi, the tabliq community accuses Sheikh Mubajje of using state organs like police and army to threaten them and stop them from accessing the mosque for over 3 years.

Sheikh Kalungi confirmed to theGrapevine that they met Gen. Saleh who promised to intervene in their matter.

Saleh also promised that the policemen who were deployed at the mosque will be removed.

Sheikh Yunus Muhammad Kamoga, the leader of the Tabliq community in Uganda told theGrapevine that the mosque was closed when he was in prison battling terrorism and murder charges which were dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

He said that when he was released, he tried to talk to Sheikh Mubajje to get an explanation from him on why the mosque was closed and how it could be opened.

The mosque leadership now is currently under the leadership of Mufti Mubajje and sources allege that he is the one collecting money from shops renting on the mosque land.

In 2016, President Museveni rescued William Street Mosque land title from city tycoon Drake Lubega who had bought it from Mubajje’s leadership by compensating him with a lot of money.

The Tabliq community protested the transaction and denied tycoon Lubega possession of the mosque claiming that the transaction was illegally executed.

Efforts to talk to Sheikh Mubajje were futile because he was not picking our phone calls.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

National Unity Platform (NUP) has regretted submitting a candidate for the Busongora South Constituency by-election following allegations of high level of vote rigging in Kasese district.

According to NUP General Secretary Lewis Rubongoya, everywhere they went, the people of Kasese told them that they had never seen what happened yesterday during the by-election.

Busongora South by-election took place yesterday in Kasese and NRM’s Thembo Gideon Mujungu, was the winner with 12088 votes, Mulindwa David (Independent) garnered 2093 votes, National Unity Platform’s (NUP) Mbaju Jackson garnered 6866 votes, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)’s Kighem Alozious garnered 5564 votes, Izagiira Doreen (Independent) garnered 32 votes and Democratic Party (DP)’s Businge Benadet garnered 84 votes.

Following the release of the results, Rubongoya revealed that each of the ten sub-counties was under the command of a Resident District Commissioner (RDC) and District Police Chief (DPC).

“The role of the RDC was to rig, and the role of the DPC was to arrest anyone who dared complain about the rigging,” he said.

He added, “After the blatant thuggery in Soroti, we even wondered whether it made sense to participate in Kasese and other local government by-elections. However, we had already identified and declared candidates. It became difficult to convince them this is how their elections would go.”

Rubongoya divulged that during the by-election, military took positions around polling stations and their role was not only to intimidate but to also directly participate in multiple voting and ballot stuffing.

“We found out that the register had been tampered with, to include so many people who do not ordinarily vote from the area.”

Rubongoya contended that the by-elections have been costly in terms of time, resources, but most importantly some of the lives they have lost and those who have sustained injuries.

He propounded, “However, I am glad that all parts of the country have been able to clearly see the reality in our country during these by-elections.

“It started in Buganda (Kayunga), then North (Omoro), then East (Soroti) and now the West (Kasese). Pallisa and Kisoro weren’t any better. When the people of Uganda resort to other means to reclaim their democratic rights, no one will be in doubt about the justification.”

By Kalamira Hope