Supkem wrangles: Leadership crisis continues as Hassan Naado takes legal action

The leadership wrangles at the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) are far from over.

The contention revolves around two factions; one led by incumbent national chairman Yusuf Nzibo and another led by Hassan Ole Naado, who are fighting to control the religious organization.

Naado who claims to have been elected as the council's chairman in August last year's elections and his faction "elected" alongside him wants to remove Nzibo from office.

The cleric and six others including deputy chairman Muhndahar Shariff, Secretary general Abdulahi Salat, organizing secretary general Juma Musa, deputy organizing secretary general Degho Imani and regional coordinators Khamis Mwaguzo and Khamis Omar returned to court last month.

They have petitioned the high court to quash the decision of the Registrar of Societies at the office of the attorney general in a letter dated January 23, 2024, listing Nzibo as the Supkem chairman according to the November 2017 Supkem elections. They have sued Nzibo alongside the registrar.

In the letter, the Registrar of Societies, reinstated ousted officials, including Nzibo as the chairman based on 2017 records when the embattled chairman was elected.

In the new petition, Naado and his group are seeking an order prohibiting Nzibo from acting as the national chairman of Supkem and restraining him and his associates from asserting himself as chairman of the council.

A suit filed at the High Court in Nairobi by Naado last year was dismissed by Justice John Chigiti who said that there was no material in writing, authorizing Naado to represent Supkem.

"As such, I find that the 2nd applicant (Naado) has not complied with section 41 of the Societies Act," the judge said in a ruling last month.

Naado had sued Nzibo and the Registrar of Societies in the office of the Attorney General.

The seven petitioners are compelling the registrar of societies to regard a notification of August 22, 2023 by the Supkem that they had been duly elected in their respective capacities in their agitation to remove Nzibo from the council's top leadership.