President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Wednesday launched Uganda’s first-ever licensed Islamic Banking institution Salaam Bank during Ramathan dua prayers organized by the Office of the National Chairman-NRM at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
Islamic banking is a form of banking based on Islamic principles. Basically, in Islamic banking, it is not allowed to pay and receive interest but rather it is based on profit sharing.
Speaking during the event, President Museveni wished the Muslims a fruitful Ramathan and prayed that God protects them. Museveni reiterated his call to believers to make sure that they take part in income-generating activities to improve their livelihoods.
“Where I come from in Ntungamo, we don’t entertain laziness. As a norm on that side, every person must have what he/she does like rearing animals, growing crops, fishing, manufacturing, and artisanship. Therefore, when I got an opportunity to lead Uganda, I started encouraging you to fight poverty and create wealth,” he said.
“We said there are four ways through which a person can fight poverty. The first sector is commercial agriculture, then manufacturing, the third sector is services like transport, hotels, among others, and finally ICT.”
President Museveni further said as the NRM, they don’t believe in discrimination, and they serve all Ugandans equally irrespective of their religions or tribes. He said such attribution has enabled the country to develop socially and economically.
“When Amin left, those of Lule dislodged Uganda from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) saying that the majority of Ugandans are not Muslims but when we took over power, we readmitted the country back to OIC. I told them that some of my people are Muslims so they must belong to such an organization and it was also not a taboo to belong to OIC even if you are not a Muslim. We believe in politics of interest not identity,” he said.
“When the Islamic University in Uganda began, some people were against it. I said no, leave it to operate. Now, it has produced so many graduates of different professions including non-Muslims. When they told me about Islamic banking, I told them I had no problem with it. I said we should let them operate and that is why we have Salaam Bank now.”
President Museveni also welcomed the bank to Uganda, before assuring them of support to smoothly run their operations in the country.
“I welcome Salaam Bank to Uganda. This is a big market with a population of 48 million now and in the next 27 years, the population of Uganda will be 106 million. You are going to start right away to serve the people of Uganda,” he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Djibouti who led the Djiboutian delegation to Uganda, Mr. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, extended warm greetings of the President of Djibouti, H.E Ismaïl Omar Guelleh to President Museveni.
Mr. Ali Youssouf underscored the inspiring ambition of the Salaam Group to broaden the scope of its activities all over the continent including Uganda which he said has a safe and solid financial institution.
The ONC Manager, Hajjat Hadijah Uzeiye Namyalo thanked President Museveni for loving and always supporting Muslims in the country
“Your Excellency, you are the true definition of a God-sent leader who feels empathy for us the poor. Your Excellency, we are all gathered here because you love us and we love you too and for a particular purpose, you are ready to empower us,” Hajjat Namyalo said.
The Board Chairman of Salaam Bank, Mr. Ibrahim M. Abdirahman informed the President that he signed the Islamic bank regulations into law at a time when the Islamic community needed it.
“Indeed, you have been a true friend of this community. This license for Salaam Bank was handed over to us on the 8th of September 2023, which was the birthday month of Your Excellency, Mr. President, we sincerely thank you for supporting us wholeheartedly. The establishment of an Islamic Bank marks a significant milestone in Uganda’s journey towards economic empowerment and inclusive financial growth,” he said.
In September last year, the Bank of Uganda granted its first Islamic banking license to Salaam Bank Uganda Ltd, a subsidiary of a Djibouti-based bank after Parliament passed legislation to authorize Islamic banking, which President Museveni signed into law in August 2023.
