Ugandan Muslims flagged off for pilgrimage to Mecca

PILGRIM MUSLIMS

KAMPALA - A total of 900 Ugandan pilgrims have been flagged off for this year's pilgrimage to Mecca.

The stirring ceremony took place at Wandegeya Mosque on Friday where the first Ugandan pilgrims are said to have set off in1922.

Hundreds of intending pilgrims from over 40 licenced Hajj bureau companies under their national umbrella body of Uganda Bureau of Hajji Affairs (UBHA) attended the function.

(L-R ) Prince Kassim Nakibinge, Supreme Mufti Sulaiman Ndirangwa and Muslim clerics during the official sendoff ceremony at Wandegeya, 900 Uganda to visit Mecca in fulfilment of fifth Pillars of the Islamic faith. This was July 26, 2019.Photo by Ramadhan Abbey

Most of them appeared entertained and were seen enjoying musical experience from various singers.

The pilgrims this year have been charged between sh17m to sh18m for the holy journey to Mecca.

Hajji is one of the five pillars of Islam and it is prescribed to all able Muslims to make it at least once in their lifetime.

It is an annual pilgrimage to the holiest city for Muslims, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, during Dhul Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar.

According to Sheikh Zakariya Kyewalyanga, the secretary of Uganda Bureau of Hajji Affairs (UBHA), the first batch of pilgrims will fly out on Monday.  The last group is slated to fly out on August 2.

Presiding over the event, Prince Kassim Nakibinge Kakungulu warned the pilgrims against engaging in unlawful acts while in Mecca.

"You should know that you are going to a foreign land governed by strict sharia laws and if you are caught on the wrong side of the law, you might regret the day you chose to go for pilgrimage," Nakibinge said.

Nakibinge commended UBHA for working together amid divisionism among Muslims in the country.

"The Unity you exhibit when it comes to Hajj issues clearly shows that God is behind you and I am grateful of it," he said.

He requested the pilgrims to pray for the country to remain peaceful and unity to prevail among the Muslim community in the country.

Nakibinge also advised UBHA officials to publicise through the media licenced personnel or companies in a bid to curb increased cases of fraudsters.

"Unless you publicise licenced Hajji Officials, conmen will continue to defraud Ugandans since it's hard for one to know the genuine Hajji dealer," Nakibinge observed.

The Supreme Mufti, sheikh Siliman Kasule Ndirangwa cautioned pilgrims against carrying other people's luggage, noting that they could land into a trap by tricksters.

"Some people pack unlawful goods like Marijuana. I, therefore, urge you not to lift other people's luggage if you do not want to land into troubles," Ndirangwa noted.

Muslim Women Pilgrims dancing during the sendoff ceremony at Wandegeya, 900 Uganda to visit Mecca in fulfillment of fifth Pillars of the Islamic faith. This was July 26 and 2019.Photo by Abbey Ramadhan

Hajji background

According to Sheikh Jawad Mbogo, the founder of the Muslim museum, Uganda registered the highest number of pilgrims to Mecca in 1977 where over 4450 Ugandans performed a pilgrimage that year.

Sheikh Abdullah Ssekimwanyi is said to be the first Ugandan to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in1922.

Ssekimwanyi together with Abubakari Kibali, a local chief then set off on foot on a journey that would start at a mosque in Wandegeya, lead them through harsh terrain to Port Sudan across the Red Sea and eventually to Mecca. 

However, it is reported that it is only Ssekimwanyi who managed to make it to mecca as Kibali developed illness on the way.