Muslims have appealed to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) top management to consider affirmative action for them while recruiting staff to enable the Muslim community “move at the same pace” with other Ugandans.
The Muslims also want management to at least designate a place for them to construct a mosque at the airport for staff and travelers to have a proper place of worship.
The requests were made by Muslim leaders at a special Iftar (breaking of fast during Ramathan/Lent) dinner hosted by the UCAA on Wednesday evening.
Giving a history of how Muslims at the Entebbe airport started fellowship, Haji Siraj Ndahura who started the Entebbe Airport Muslims Committee said in 1984 they were only three Muslims at Managerial level and one of the bosses had audacity to comment “There are too many Muslims.”
“I wish CAA could grant us land where we can construct a mosque. That is yet to come. But now that we have started with Iftar, I hope that (mosque land) will come also,” Haji Ndahura who has since retired into private work said.
Ndahura who commended the administration for hosting the first Iftar Dinner as a good gesture, said that they had developed a human resource base and it would be positive to always give them a first chance while recruiting for any post.
“I humbly request that you first give us the opportunity before you announce, so that we look at our list. That way we shall be able to move together at the same pace,” said Ndahura.
The same requests were echoed by the visiting Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Imam, Sheikh Muhamd Waiswa and Haji Rashid Bbaale, the current UCAA Muslims Committee chairperson. The leaders commended the CAA top management for giving a nod to the Iftar idea when the committee floated it.
UCAA director General Fred Bamwesgye who attended the function said, “There was no way I could say no to such a wonderful idea. This is just the beginning. As Christians we sometimes forget that there are other people around us. … But there will be no reverse now that we have started,” he added.
He said places designated for worship existed at the airport but only that the numbers of Muslims had grown, necessitating bigger space, something management would consider in the new Airport developments.
About affirmative action in recruitment, the DG said a conscious effort had been made, resulting in the now sizable number of Muslims in the UCAA top management and other staffing. Out of fifteen members of top management, he said about six were Muslims and there were managers at other levels, a situation deemed equitable considering the numerical strength among the population.
However, he explained there would always be effort for affirmative action as long as the positions concerned do not involve compromising uncompromisable technical skills.
Minister Nakadama who was chief guest commended UCAA for hosting the Futar, explaining that it bonds employees at work and also brought families and friends together in a fashion that caters for all including the haves and have-nots.
She did not miss an opportunity to campaign for her boss President Yoweri Museveni, explaining that he was the one who started the practice of hosting Muslims for Iftar during Ramathan and other organisations and corporates picked on.
“I think this is a good reason we should support him in 2026 as our NRM candidate,” said the Minister Nakadama, causing a mixture of murmurs and claps.
The different speakers commended UCAA for the facelift and developments done and on-going at Entebbe Airport, something they said was a sign of good leadership.
*Source – URN*
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