Sheikh Mohammed Mutumba of Kyampisi Masjid Noor mosque in Kayunga District, Uganda who was said to have ‘mistakenly’ married a man faces a life in prison sentence after he was charged to court along with his ‘wife’ Ms Swabullah Nabukeera.

Local media outlets in Uganda over the weekend reported the Imam was suspended from clerical duties by the mosque but the social media comments was dominated by gay accusation.

– What Happened?

The imam and his ‘wife’ got married two weeks after they met in the same mosque. The couple which had not had any sexual intercourse before marriage also spent two weeks of their marriage, without enjoying conjugal rights as the “bride” claimed she was in her menstruation periods.

Mr Mutumba said after his wife claimed to be in her menses, he became patient and waited for her to get better.

However, Nabukeera’s luck ran out after Mr Mutumba’s neighbour claimed that his newly wedded wife had jumped over a wall and stole their television set and clothes.

The neighbour reported the case at Kayunga Police Station before detectives were dispatched to arrest Ms Nabukeera.

“It was when he was been searched by a female officer that the suspect had stacked clothes in the bra to hoodwink that they were breasts. On further search, we discovered that the suspect had male genitals,” said Mugera.

The Daily Monitor, a Ugandan online news outlet reported that a female police officer reported the suspect as male after conducting a body search.

The newspaper report included the account of a cleric at the imam’s mosque who said the imam needed counselling after his bride “refused to undress while they slept.”

Upon interrogation, the ‘wife’ was confirmed to be a 27-year-old male whose real name is Richard Tumushabe and not Swabullah Nabukeera.

The Imam has been suspended from clerical duties by the mosque, the ‘wife’ has appeared before a court and been charged.

WHY THE IMAM WAS CHARGED?

The Imam for having wedded a fellow man in the Islamic culture (Nikah) was charged with having carnal knowledge with a person against the order of nature, and remanded to Ntenjeru prison.

Appearing in court on Thursday, Sheikh Mutumba, 27, was not allowed to take plea because his case can only be heard by a higher court, the newspaper added.

The Kayunga District Police Commander, Mr John Lukooto, also confirmed that the ‘imam wife’ Tumushabe had duped a number of men who fell in love with ‘her’ and later stole their money.

The Imam has been taken to court and charged with having “carnal knowledge with a person against the order of nature”. The charge carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

He is now now being detained in Ntenjeru prison while he awaits his trial on January 24.

UGANDA LAW IS AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY

Uganda constitution does not permit homosexuality (gay) and there have been efforts to enact stiffer penalties including death by hanging.

It is the people’s belief that such act (gay) was imported from the West and should not be permitted.