More than 4,000 Kenyans to join this year's Hajj

The Chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims (SUPKEM), Mr Hassan Ole Naado, on Sunday announced that nearly 4,000 pilgrims will be attending the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Mr Naado said the first batch of pilgrims are expected to leave the country on June 20 to join over four million others from around the world to participate in one of the pillars of the Muslim religion.

Hajj is the fifth pillar of the Muslim religion and an adult Muslim is expected to perform the right at least once in their lifetime. This year's Hajj begins on 7 July and ends on 12 July.

"Due to the difficult economic situation in the country, we are expecting close to 4000 Kenyans to travel this year. As the Kenya Hajj Mission, we take this opportunity to appreciate the great efforts made by all stakeholders to ensure that this year's Hajj is a successful one," said Mr Naado.

He was speaking at Supkem offices, Ismalia House Nairobi when he briefed the nation on preparations for the Hajj.  Mr Naado said the Kenya Hajj Mission will work with Hajj agents to ensure that this year's pilgrimage is a success.

Also read: Kenyan Muslims leave for Hajj

This year, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through its embassy in Nairobi and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Affairs, has lifted the Covid-19 related restrictions that resulted in Muslims of 65 years of age missing last year's pilgrimage.

Mr Naado, however, called on the government to allow those who hold foreign passports but live and work in Kenya to prepare for and perform Hajj from Kenya.

"We appeal to the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to allow these foreigners to perform Hajj from Kenya. Normally we have a three to five per cent quota reserved for these foreigners but this year it was changed and it has really hurt them," said Mr Naado.

The Supkem official also called on the government to speed up the process of issuing passports as Kenyans have only a week to complete all the preparations for the pilgrimage.

For the pilgrims, Supkem has urged them to strictly follow the guidelines set by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The pilgrimage to Mecca dates back thousands of years to the time of "Abraham". Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people who gather simultaneously in Mecca for the week-long Hajj and perform a series of rituals.

Each person walks seven times counter-clockwise around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building that serves as the Muslim qibla, or direction of prayer.