Appoint Muslim envoys to all Islamic states, Kemnac tells Uhuru

The Muslim council has called for inclusion of the religious community in the appointment of envoys to represent the country abroad.

The Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council on Wednesday said President Uhuru Kenyatta should ensure that all envoys appointed to represent Kenya in Islamic countries should be Muslim.

Kemnac chair Sheikh Juma Ngao questioned why Kenya’s envoy to Saudi Arabia, which hosts the Islamic Holy City of Makkah, was a Christian yet there are a number of qualified Muslim scholars who can fill that position.

The Kenyan embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city, is headed by Ambassador Peter Ogego, who was appointed in 2018 by President Uhuru.

“We are calling on the President to ensure that he appoints Muslims to head embassies in all Islamic countries. The issues of Saudi Arabia should be rectified,” Ngao said.

During the appointment of Ogego, a section of the Muslim community opposed it.

They called on the President to appoint someone with a background of Islamic knowledge.

Previously, Ogego served as the Kenyan ambassador to Washington DC in the US, before he was recalled by former President Mwai Kibaki in 2010 after his tenure came to an end.

The leaders spoke in Mombasa during the closing ceremony of a three-day summit.

The summit brought together 40 Muslim scholars and intellectuals to discuss a myriad of challenges affecting Muslims, Ngao said muslims must unite.

He said unity will enable the Muslim community speak in one voice against the challenges facing them.

“Muslims must be united no matter what sect you belong to. We have no time to undermine each other," Ngao said.

Kemnac's national director of legal and religious affairs Hassan Kinyua Omari called for the appointment of the country’s first grand Mufti.

Mufti is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a non-binding opinion on a point of Islamic law (Sharia).

Kinyua wants the country to have 47 county muftis and eight regional others who will work closely with the national Grand Mufti.

They will be advising the government on issues affecting the muslim community.

“We call upon Kenyans with the required qualifications to apply as we begin the process to have the country’s first mufti," Kinyua said.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)