Over 1,400 Ugandan Muslims cleared for Haj

By Abdul Wahid Kakande

Over 1,400 Ugandan Muslims have been cleared to travel to Makkah in Saudi Arabia for this year’s annual pilgrimage.

Sheikh Zakariyah Kyewalyanga, the chairperson of the Uganda Bureau of Hajj Affairs (UBHA), made the revelation during a press conference in Kampala on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

“So far, 1,200 visas have been issued, and the rest will be issued in the next two days. We therefore call upon all those who have paid to get ready for the journey,” Kyewalyanga said.

Kyewalyanga said the first group will depart on May 14 this year, other factors remaining constant.

He thanked President Yoweri Museveni not only for his continued support to the firm but also for sponsoring several Muslims to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca.

This year’s Haj was thrown in balance following a public spat between Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) and the Bureau on who has mandate to organise the annual pilgrimage.

UBHA remained the recognised organiser in the end, although Mufti Sheikh Ramathan Mubaje recently asked President Yoweri Museveni to intervene in the matter.