His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Mufti of Uganda, led hundreds of mourners from all walks of life in the send-off of a prominent Muslim cleric and elder, Sheikh Ishaaq Yusuf Naminya, a resident of Bugema on the outskirts of Mbale City in Eastern Uganda.
Sheikh Naminya passed away at the age of 88 and was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Bulume Village, Busowa Trading Centre, Bugiri District, on Friday, January 23, 2026. He is survived by widows, several children, and grandchildren.
A large number of Muslim leaders from the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) structures across Busoga and Eastern Uganda attended the burial. These included His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Ali Waiswa, the Deputy Mufti; members of the Executive and General Assembly; Dr. Sheikh Ahmad Hamid Wandega, Regional Assistant in charge of Eastern Uganda; Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Bbowa, Regional Assistant to the Mufti for Busoga; District Kadhis; Hon. Karim Masaba, MP-elect for Mbale Industrial Division; county sheikhs; imams, among many others.
Speaker after speaker praised the late Sheikh Naminya for his outstanding and exemplary service to the wider Muslim community during his lifetime.
Recalling his early journey in leadership, Mufti Mubaje said:
“After my return home from Islamic theological studies in Saudi Arabia, it was Sheikh Naminya who personally introduced and proposed my name to the late Mufti Sheikh Saad Ibrahim Luwemba for my appointment as the Kadhi of Bugisu Muslim District.”
The Mufti noted that the late Sheikh Luwemba was initially skeptical, fearing that he could be among those spreading radical ideologies known for causing endless conflicts within Muslim communities. “The late Sheikh Naminya returned to me with a message from the late Mufti asking for an assurance that I would not disappoint or shame him in case I was appointed to the position of Kadhi,” Mufti Mubaje recalled.
He testified that he gave his assurance, a decision that led to his successful service as Kadhi for ten years, before eventually rising to the highest office of Mufti. “Sheikh Naminya laid the foundation for whatever UMSC has been able to achieve during the current administration,” he said.
Earlier, Sheikh Waiswa, Sheikh Wandega, Sheikh Bbowa, Hajjat Hadija—the elderly mother of Mufti Mubaje—Sheikh Muhammad Kyaze, son of the late first Mufti Sheikh Swaib Ssemakula, as well as family members of Sheikh Naminya, all spoke highly of the late cleric.
