A delay in burial divides Muslim community in Uganda

KAMPALA— In 1998, Uganda held the first direct elections for the mayor of its capital, Kampala.

Mourners carry a photo of the recently deceased Ugandan politician known as Seya. Photo courtesy of Kampala Capital City Authority.

Among the candidates was a 51-year-old businessman, Al Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala, who had grown up in the city, getting his first job at the age of 7. Sebaggala promised supporters that, once in office, he would ensure that everyone would get a share of the wealth in the city. His campaign motto, “share,” easily resonated with the people he hoped to represent. In April 1998, Sebaggala was voted into office. He was also christened “Seya,” meaning share.

His stint as mayor was cut short after he was imprisoned in the U.S. two months after assuming office. He was convicted on eight counts of fraud and lying to U.S. customs officials. But he was not done yet. In 2006, after leaving prison, Seya ran for the same position and won a five-year term. He was intending to run again next year. But Seya died September 26 at age 73. 

Musa Ssenyondo, the director of Nabugabo Updeal, a garbage collection firm, said Seya lived up to his nickname. He said Seya helped the company win contracts to clean the city, when others in his administration had denied them the opportunity because they were illiterate. “Ssebaggala told them that cleaning the city did not require someone with a university degree, neither did it require someone who knew how to speak English,” Ssenyondo said.

Seya’s casket in Kampala. Photo courtesy of Kampala Capital City Authority.

Godfrey Kirumira, a businessman based in Kampala, told mourners before the burial on Oct. 4 that one unique characteristic of Seya was that as mayor he answered all calls, regardless of the caller’s social status, unlike many other politicians.

As the tributes poured in, Seya’s Muslim family, which had hastily announced that his burial would be the day after he died, backtracked. Instead, Seya was buried after eight days, an act not common for Muslims. That decision has divided a community he had worked tirelessly to unite. Islamic religious law stipulates that a body should be buried as soon as it is possible, in most cases not exceeding 24 hours. But Seya’s case was different. So, what happened?

The family said Seya had indicated in his will that he wanted his children, who live abroad, to attend his funeral. As such, he willed that his burial be delayed by three days, to allow them to travel back home. But that was pre-COVID-19. Had Seya written his will during the pandemic, would he have delayed his burial further? His family thought so. So they pushed his burial up to the eighth day. Seya’s younger brother, Muhammad Bakuuba, said it was important that the bereaved children attend the burial. Indeed, the children arrived on the sixth day.

The decision to delay Seya’s burial split the Muslim community, with some condemning the act. Those who supported the delay argued that even the local traditional beliefs contend that the burial of an elder of high standing like Seya should not be rushed.

The Buganda Kingdom’s culture, to which Seya’s family belongs, requires that such an elder is buried after at least a day from the time of death and, usually, at 4:00pm, when most of the deceased’s children and close relatives have gathered.

Sheikh Luqman Wakinyankaali said the family had the final say on when their father should be buried. He explained that, whereas it would be right to bury Seya within 24 hours after his death, if there were family issues to be resolved before the burial, then there was no need to rush and leave family members torn apart. 

But Sheikh Abdul Obed Kamulegeya did not agree. The former chairperson of the Council of Eminent Sheikhs in Uganda said whoever made the decision to delay the funeral would one day pay for their decision. The group allied with Kamulegeya expressed fear that many Muslims could start to imitate the actions of Seya’s family.

Seya was not the first prominent Muslim in Uganda to have burial delayed. In 2018, Member of Parliament Ibrahim Abiriga was buried several days after he was gunned down by unknown assailants. But since his death was a murder case, the delayed burial was justified.

Hajji Nsereko Mutumba, an elder in Buganda Kingdom and the former spokesperson of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, told Religion Unplugged that delaying the burial of any person, whether Muslim or not, is uncalled for, unless the circumstances are unique.

About the delayed burial of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Imam Dr. Abduljalil Sajid, who was then the chairman of the Muslim Council for Religious and Racial Harmony in Britain, said that Islam requires a Muslim to be buried as soon as possible after death. He said the reason for the speedy burials partially stems from days when poor hygiene was a big threat, so it was intended to protect the relatives from getting sick.

Extending the burial dates of Muslims, Sajid explained, could only happen if they had not died of natural causes. He said if someone is killed in battle or in circumstances where foul play is suspected, it would be more important to determine the cause of death before the burial.

In the case of Gaddafi, for five days after he was killed in his hometown of Sirte, his body lay in a refrigerator open to the public. Another prominent person whose burial raised ritual concerns was Osama Bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, after U.S. Navy Seals killed him in Pakistan in May 2011. The U.S. Army then had the burden of explaining to the world that they observed all the Muslim burial rituals while handling his body, including burying him within 12 hours after his death.

It remains to be seen whether the Muslim community in Uganda will resolve the ritual disagreement over Seya’s burial amicably and be able to move on.

John Semakula is a Kampala-based correspondent for Religion Unplugged. He also reports for New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper.