Leadership disputes rock Supkem

Elections were supposed to take place in 2020, according to a segment of the leadership, but they were delayed because of Covid-19.
Director General of Supkem Abdulatif Shaban contended that a letter from the Registrar of Societies confirming Naado as the legitimate National Chairman did not outline the steps used to confer the post on him.
Since Ambassador Yusuf Nzibo was chosen as the Supkem National Chairman in 2017, no election has been held. As a result, Shaban remarked, “we have yet to comprehend the procedure that Hassan ole Naado used to become the National Chairman.”
He said that Naado ran for secretary general in 2017 but was defeated by Ambassador Mohammed Mahat. Subsequently, he claimed, Naado was coopted into the Supkem leadership and served as deputy chairman before being named temporary chairman in November 2019 after Nzibo was stripped of his responsibilities.
Shaban added that a letter from the Registrar of Societies revealing Naado as the national chairman had astonished members and that the Supkem constitution mandates that an election be held to choose new executives.
Given that elections are meant to be held every three years, he said that they have filed an official complaint with the Registrar of Societies to find out whether the leadership of Supkem was legitimately in office.
Since Naado has been serving in an acting capacity as chairman since the last election, which was held in 2017, Shaban said, “We want due process to be followed in having the leadership of Supkem be subjected to an election every three years. We have no problem with him being re-elected since someone can be re-elected as many times as possible.”
In response to claims that he was in office unlawfully, Naado asserted that he had been granted the go-ahead by the required bodies to serve as Supkem National Chairman and that some people were against him because he had blocked off corruption-related entry points within the organization.
He advised those interested in leadership to hold off until their turn, claiming that some individuals were funding bloggers to discredit him and that he would not respond to them.
Naado continued by stating that he has held leadership positions throughout the years and that he does not understand why some people want him to step down at this time, particularly when Muslim pilgrims are on route to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the Hajj. He vowed to keep up with his responsibilities, though.
“The members of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims have confidence in my leadership, and I will continue carrying out the duties assigned to me to the best of my abilities, I will not accept to be distracted by sideshows,” he declared.