The Muslim community in Gulu has handed over its former burial site for transformation under GASMART Investment Ltd for construction of a commercial shopping mall worth Shs5 billion.
The land, located near Stanbic Bank and the Gulu Main Bus Park, has long been earmarked for redevelopment by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC). However, the handover comes amid ongoing efforts to relocate graves from the site.
So far, 313 out of the estimated 580 buried bodies have been exhumed and reburied at a new cemetery in Lawiyadul.
Speaking to journalists, Sheikh Imam Omona of Gulu Main Mosque, said 273 bodies remain at the original site but will be relocated in phases as construction progresses.
The construction is set to commence in one month and expected to take two years to complete, according to the company’s director, Mohamud Jama.
The shopping mall is part of a broader push by the UMSC to redevelop underutilized land for income-generating ventures that benefit the wider Muslim community.
