Sheikh Umar Kamoga has reignited controversy surrounding his past dispute with former Kawempe North MP Mohammed Ssegirinya, claiming that a prayer he made against the politician was answered after Ssegirinya’s death.
Speaking to the media following his release from prison, Umar addressed questions about the authenticity of his duwas and pointed to Ssegirinya’s death as what he considers evidence that his prayers have power.
According to Umar, his disagreement with Ssegirinya began before he went to prison. He claimed that the former MP had brought a woman to his home and accused him of things he said he did not know about.
Umar said he asked Ssegirinya to apologise but claimed the politician instead mocked him and questioned whether he was a genuine sheikh.
“Before I went to prison, I prayed for him because he had started it all,” Umar said. “I promised him that I would recite my dua but then he said I was a fake sheikh.”
Ssegirinya died on January 9, 2025, after a prolonged period of illness. He had been receiving treatment for cancer and other health complications before his condition deteriorated.
Umar denied directly causing Ssegirinya’s death, but claimed that Allah answered the prayer he had made while the former legislator was still alive.
“I didn’t kill him but Allah did it. I just prayed for him to take him away,” he said.
Umar also claimed that he had previously promised to return to the media if Ssegirinya died and say that his prayer had been answered.
His comments, however, should be understood as Umar’s own claim about the meaning of events. There is no evidence in the supplied material establishing that his prayer caused Ssegirinya’s death. Medical reporting at the time documented that Ssegirinya had been seriously ill and undergoing treatment for cancer and other health problems.
The former MP’s death was confirmed in January 2025 after an initial period of uncertainty over his condition at Lubaga Hospital. Reports at the time said he had been receiving treatment in Uganda and abroad before his health worsened.
Umar further claimed that he had sought an apology from Ssegirinya’s family over the dispute but said his efforts were ignored.
He said he has no intention of apologising to the family, instead insisting that they should apologise to him.
“I can never apologise to his family. Instead they should come and apologise to me because he hurt me,” Umar said.
He went on to warn the family to seek him out if they did not want what he described as a curse to follow their bloodline.
The remarks add a new chapter to a dispute that Umar says began before his imprisonment, while Ssegirinya’s documented medical history remains the established account surrounding the circumstances of his death.