Uganda bureau issues 2026 Hajj road map

KAMPALA - In a bid to ensure that no Muslim in Uganda intending to make the sacred pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia next year miss out as it happened this year, the Uganda Bureau of Hajj Affairs (UBHA) has issued the 2026 Hajj road map, giving timelines for making payments by the intending pilgrims.

According to the roadmap issued on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, all Muslims intending to make pilgrimage to Makkah next year have up to January 26, 2026, to pay all the required fees.

The roadmap indicates that pilgrims will fly to Makkah for pilgrimage on May 11, 2026 and will return by June 9, 2026.

UBHA officials issued the roadmap during an engagement with the co-ordinators of the registered Hajj travel companies in the country.

Over 200 intending Ugandan pilgrims missed out on this year’s pilgrimage, which UBHA officials blame largely on payments made past the deadline by the affected pilgrims.

Speaking during the meeting, UBHA secretary general Sheikh Hussein Bogere revealed that only 1,349 Ugandans were part of millions of Muslims from across the globe that took part in this year’s pilgrimage of the 1,700 slots that had been allocated to Uganda by the Saudi authorities.

Bogere revealed that more than 200 intending Ugandan pilgrims made payments past the deadline leading to many of them being left out because Saudi Arabia had closed the system.

Muslims pay between $4600 (about shillings 16.3 million) and $8,000 (about shillings 29 million) for the pilgrimage to Makkah.

The money charged covers return airfare, visa, internal transport in Saudi Arabia, accommodation and meals.

Sheikh Zakaria Kyewalyanga, the UBHA chairperson, underscored the importance of ensuring timely payments, documentation and proper co-ordination with Saudi authorities, noting that it is the only way the intended pilgrims will avoid missing out on the sacred trip.

“I urge all intending pilgrims to prepare early, follow guidelines and register through accredited channels to avoid being cheated by impostors,” Kyewalyanga said.

Importance of Hajj in Islam

Hajj is the fifth pillar of the Islamic faith, and every muslim with financial means is required to make the pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime.

Hajj is considered a powerful means of atonement, where a person’s past sins are forgiven by Allah, similar to being reborn without sin.

The ultimate reward for an accepted Hajj is entry into paradise, a place of eternal bliss and reward in the afterlife.