Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) has dismissed rumours circulating in the social media regarding the sale of Quran House.
The rumours say the Muslim body is refusing to receive an offer from well wishers who want to bail out the Quran House.
The well wishers contacted the committee that was constituted by MAM to conduct the fundraising campaign about their idea of settling the remaining balance.
As of today, there is a balance of money amounting to K66m which the Muslim body is required to raise in order to rescue the house.
Looking that time is going and considering the fact that the committee has exhausted all means to raise the funds, the well wishers offered themselves to settle the balance but on condition that MAM pays them back through rentals from its buildings.
It is reported that the fundraising National Coordinator Sheikh Omar Nkachelenga took the issue to the trustees of MAM who promised to come back to him.
However, before the response from the trustees, there is a letter from the High Court that has been circulating in the social media, dated 8 November 2018 concerning the vacation of the injuction by MAM – which the concerned Muslim took restraining the association from selling the Quran house.
Seeing a delay in response to the offer, some people have been alleging that MAM’s aim to vacate the injunction is to proceed with their idea of selling the house.
However speaking to Malawi Muslims Official Website, MAM Spokesperson Sheikh Dinala Chabulika has rubbished the rumours, saying the vacation of the injunction and the offer are two different matters.
“It is very unfortunate how people are linking the two. On the injunction we were asked by the concerned Muslims that we should go and vacate it because they do not have money to do so which MAM agreed. The hearing is tomorrow, December 5,” said the Spokesperson.
On the issue of offer Chabulika said it is a welcome development but they are waiting for a formal communication from both the committee and the well wishers.
“MAM is an organization which has got its own systems and processes. What we need is for the committee that we constituted to officially come back to us on the progress made so far.
“They should tell us that the initial plan has hit a snag and they are opting for the offer. Thereafter, they should present an official letter formally, from the well wishers regarding their gesture so that as an association, we should sit down and discuss the conditions they are putting. We avoid accepting things blindly and later be punished as it is now. We need proper proceduresbut there is no any link between the two,” he said.
In 2003, the then MAM leadership proposed to develop Quran House title number BC46 situated along Livingstone Avenue in the City of Blantyre known ‘Quran House’. MAM then approached an Architect, Dan Kamwaza for the design of the building who charged a sum of K13m but after negotiations, the amount was reduced to K9m.
However, the then leadership failed to pay the architect on time until the figure rose up to K313m in 2015 being initial amount plus interest accruals.
Subsequently, MAM through their lawyers negotiated the amount and the initial balance got reduced to K118m.
Since then, MAM has tried to talk to different stakeholders and individuals to help them with funds to pay Kamwaza but only few responded to their plea. The association then thought of selling the place, pay Kamwaza and use the remaining money to buy another land in Sunside, Blantyre.
However, a grouping calling itself “Concerned Muslims” went to the court of law to obtain an injunction restraining MAM from selling the place.
The group said it would mobilize the Muslim community to contribute towards rescuing the house which the Muslim’s mother body didn’t object. To show its support, MAM constituted its own committee for the same to work hand in hand with the concerned Muslims.
However, up to now the money is not yet fully settled.
