The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) has once again shown its secretive nature when it is meant to be forthcoming on issues of public scrutiny and accountability.

This assessment from community activist, Imraahn Mukaddam comes as the MJC remains silent on the more than half-a-million-rand that is unaccounted for in its 2021 financial records.

Mukaddam says that this secretive nature was also evident when the halal status of Orion chicken came to the fore.

But Mukaddam says that the MJC must be commended for at least instituting the Commission of Inquiry into financial mismanagement at the institution.

However, it’s now a question of what the MJC does with the report’s findings…

How are they going to deal with this information and the evidence that they have of gross mismanagement? And, in the report, it actually mentions fraud; that there was receipts made out for amounts that that particular organisation never received, but they gave receipts for the money. So that is fraud, that is criminal. So, there is sufficient prima facie grounds, despite the fact that the report mentions that there are not prima facie grounds, any person with a little bit of legal understanding, will see that there is sufficient prima facie evidence that fraud had been committed. And it was committed in the name of an organisation that is run by the President of the MJC.

– Community activist, Imraahn Mukaddam.

He was speaking as the Commission’s report, which was dated June 2022, has only come to light six months later.

The Commission found that there are serious concerns about MJC President, Sheikh Irfaan Abrahams’ ability to remain in office, it also found gross negligence on the part of the MJC’s Treasurer, Moulana Fadhil Emandien, and that the first deputy president, Moulana Khaliq Allie had failed in his constitutional duty as head of the Treasury.

Attempts by Radio 786 to speak to the MJC on the report’s recommendations have gone unanswered.