Inside the mission to save UMSC Hajj pilgrims
By Jafar Mugera & Sarah Nalule
Early last month, Sheikh Zakariya Kyewalyanga, chairman of the Uganda Bureau of Hajj Affairs (UBHA), was dispatched on a hastily arranged trip to Makkah, on a mission to salvage the business fortunes of about 20 Hajj tour and travel companies, and to save hundreds of Ugandans at risk of missing this year’s pilgrimage.
The groups, aligned to Mufti Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubaje’s failed bid to wrest control of the Hajj process from UBHA, had defiantly declined to register their clients with the Kyewalyanga-led bureau, insisting they would secure visas through alternative channels.
The Friday Call understands that the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) had hoped to leverage its contacts within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to obtain visas for an estimated 330 pilgrims. However, the deadlines set by the authorities in Makkah elapsed without progress, triggering anxiety and rising tensions among the UMSC-aligned Hajj groups.
With Makkah unwilling to transact with any entity other than Kyewalyanga’s UBHA, the UMSC-aligned groups were ultimately compelled to set aside their differences and seek his intervention.
Dr Ahmed Kisuule, a respected cleric and diplomat, was brought in to mediate between the two sides. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Saudi Arabian embassy in Kampala attended the meeting.
According to a source familiar with the talks, Kyewalyanga maintained that he bore no ill will towards the UMSC groups and was willing to assist their clients. He noted that UMSC’s Majlis Hijjah and Umrah Tours and Travel Ltd, together with Makkah-Madinah Hajj Services — the principal parties in the dispute — had voluntarily withdrawn funds earlier remitted to UBHA on behalf of their pilgrims.
The dispute had earlier escalated, with UMSC threatening to initiate civil litigation against UBHA, and at the same time invited the State House anti-corruption unit and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to investigate and prosecute the bureau’s leadership.
Furthermore, UMSC petitioned the Ministry of Internal Affairs to recall the diplomatic passports issued to Kyewalyanga and Hajj Hussein Twaib Bogere, UBHA’s Secretary-General. These efforts, however, did not succeed.
250 MORE
To Makkah, Kyewalyanga travelled with representatives of the UMSC-allied groups, notably, Hajj Sadat Ssewanyana of Makkah-Madinah Hajj Services. They stayed in Makkah until April 20, during which time they successfully secured visas for at least 250 intending pilgrims on the Hajj Nusuk portal — the official platform managed by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“I travelled to Makkah after UMSC reached out. While there, I met officials from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and appealed for additional slots. Although we were already past the deadline, they granted us only 250 extra places,” Kyewalyanga told a congregation of Muslims at Wandegeya mosque on May 1.
At Wandegeya, the Muslims had gathered for the symbolic official send-off of Ugandan pilgrims to the Hajj which was graced by Prince Kassim Nakibinge, UBHA’s patron.
In his speech, Nakibinge praised the Saudi Arabian government for resolving the dispute over the management of Ugandan pilgrims by affirming UBHA as the sole body mandated to coordinate Hajj travel for Ugandans.
“I may serve as the bureau’s patron, but my name does not appear among the directors of any of the firms involved in this business — unlike some of our colleagues who sought to hijack UBHA’s mandate. We commend the bureau’s leadership for rising above petty disputes and demonstrating leadership by ensuring that even those Ugandans were cleared for Hajj,” Nakibinge said.
He further commended UBHA for fostering unity among Muslims, noting that the Hajj process had previously been plagued by confusion and unnecessary disputes.
