Muslims With Wealth Above Shs2.4 Million Required to Pay Zakat as UMSC Announces 2026 Nisab

What the report says

Nile Post reports that the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) has announced the 2026 Zakat Nisab, setting the minimum qualifying wealth for payment of Zakat at Shs2.4 million. Under the announcement, Muslims whose eligible wealth reaches or stays above that amount for one Islamic lunar year are required to give 2.5 percent of the qualifying assets as Zakat.

According to the report, UMSC said the threshold applies to wealth such as savings, business stock, cash and other eligible assets. Sheikh Abdulbarri Muhammad Kaloozi, who heads the council’s Zakat and Swadaqa Department, said the figure was derived from current market valuations for gold and silver. Nile Post reported that the gold benchmark of 85 grams was valued at Shs40,536,500, while the silver benchmark of 595 grams was valued at Shs2,391,900, leading the council to set the Nisab at Shs2.4 million.

Sheikh Kaloozi described Zakat as a core Islamic obligation and said it serves both religious and social purposes, including purification of wealth, assistance to vulnerable people and redistribution within the Muslim community. The report says UMSC encouraged eligible Muslims to make payments through its official Zakat collection channels or via the UMSC Zakat Account at Diamond Trust Bank.

The council also directed Muslims who need help working out their Zakat liability or making payment to contact the Zakat and Swadaqa Department at UMSC headquarters in Old Kampala. The announcement matters because it gives Muslim households and businesses in Uganda a specific 2026 benchmark for determining when Zakat becomes obligatory.