The Eastern Equatoria State Islamic Council is divided with one faction calling for the summary sacking of Secretary General Sheikh Awad Omar Okot.
This comes after a group known as the Ad hoc Committee of the Islamic Council delivered a vote of no confidence against the secretary general over the weekend for allegedly violating numerous Islamic laws such as lack of commitment to duties, working outside structures, lack of commitment to the teaching of Holy Quran and the Suna and failure to ensure cohesion and unity of the Muslim Community in the State.
The vote of no confidence prompted the incumbent Islamic Council to accuse the ad hoc group of taking an unlawful step against the sitting secretary general.
According to the Council, the allegations brought against Secretary General Sheik Okot are false, lack evidence and the procedures followed were not correct.
Sheikh Okot has served as acting Secretary General of the Eastern Equatoria State Islamic Councils since May and was officially elected to the position on 17 September 2023 during the Eastern Equatoria State Islamic Conference.
However, Sheik Omar Muhamed Khanduri, the deputy chairperson of the rival Islamic ad hoc committee, told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that the vote of no confidence against Secretary General Okot was announced last Friday in the Mosque in Torit.
“After a series of long meetings, the General Assembly of the Muslims and the Shura unanimously took a vote of no confidence against the secretary general and it was announced in the Mosque,” he said. “This is because Sheikh Okot violated a lot of things and we are now waiting for Juba to bless the steering committee so that a new secretary-general is elected. He (Okot) violated articles 4, 8, 9, 12, 13, 19, 26, 31, and 33 of the Basic Islamic Rules and the violation of these laws prompted a vote of no confidence against him.”
For his part, the embattled Secretary General Sheik Awad Omer Okot denied the allegations leveled against him, insisting they are false and baseless.
He said the ad hoc committee has no power to remove and or impeach him and that there is an ongoing investigation into the matter.
“When one is in a position, there are always many problems. The vote of no confidence against me is not right. However, there is an investigation which is ongoing and in case I am found guilty, there is always the constitution which stipulates how one can be removed,” Okot explained. “They (ad hoc committee) did not follow this constitution and these people are just a group who do not have the power to remove me.”
“We have something called the Shura which comprises of 40 members headed by their president and all those who initiated this vote of no confidence are not members of this council,” the Sheikh added.
Meanwhile, Sheik Adam Osman, the President of Eastern Equatoria State Islamic Assembly, condemned the unlawful step taken against the secretary general and said the General Islamic Assembly did not recognize any ad hoc committee other than the elected Council.
“We are against the vote of no confidence because they did not give me the letter. They did not even reach the Council office to present this letter and they did share any communication with us. We only heard this over the Radio,” he stated. “They (ad hoc committee) are supposed to come to the Assembly of the Shura, Parliament of the Council, and it is the Council to decide upon knowing the contentious issues. So, we are condemning it.”