Kenyans in Saudi Arabia for Hajj are safe, Supkem says

Muslim pilgrims arrive to throw pebbles at pillars during the "Jamarat" ritual, the stoning of Satan, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, on September 24, 2015. AFP PHOTO | MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH 

In Summary

• Secretary-General Adan Wachu on Thursday said more than 4,000 pilgrims from Kenya left for Mecca for the Hajj this year.
• He added that all Kenyans were safe according to their person on the ground in the holy city.
• Pilgrims go to Mecca annually to perform Hajj (pilgrimage), which is one of the five Islamic pillars.

By ABDIMALIK HAJIR
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By SAMUEL KARANJA
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Kenyans in Saudi Arabia for the Mecca pilgrimage are safe and none has been affected by the stampede which killed hundreds, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) has said.

Secretary-General Adan Wachu on Thursday said more than 4,000 pilgrims from Kenya left for Mecca for the Hajj this year.

He added that all Kenyans were safe according to their person on the ground in the holy city.

The assurance follows a tragedy in which at least 717 pilgrims were confirmed dead in a stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage, according to the Saudi Arabia’s civil defence directorate.

Saudi authorities said another 800 were injured in Friday’s stampede, which took place in Mina on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca.

Less than two weeks to the beginning of the pilgrimage, another 107 people were killed and 238 wounded after a crane toppled over at Mecca’s Grand Mosque.

“The total number of Muslims who travelled to Mecca for pilgrimage were 4,600. I’ve spoken to the coordinator of the Kenya Hajj delegation Ustadh Mahad and his assistant Shariff Hussein and they have assured me that all the Kenyans are safe.”

“The first batch of Kenyan pilgrims left for Mecca on September 11. We expect the whole delegation back in the country next week,” Mr Wachu told the Nation, terming the incident as unfortunate.

PANIC IN GARISSA

Following the tragedy, there was panic in Garissa County — where a number of top county officials including Governor Nadhif Jama, his deputy Mr Abdullahi Hussein, Speaker of the county assembly Mr Mohamed Abbey, three county executive committee members and several members of the county assembly are in Mecca for the Hajj.

However, the county spokesman, Mr Abdikadir Sugow, confirmed to the Nation that the county officials were safe.

He dismissed rumours that there could be a constitutional crisis in the county administration.

Mr Sugow whose 90-year-old grandmother, an elder brother and sister-in-law are also attending the pilgrimage, confirmed their safety saying most Kenyans have already performed their ritual rite at the time of the incident.

Pilgrims go to Mecca annually to perform Hajj (pilgrimage), which is one of the five Islamic pillars.

PAST HAJJ TRAGEDIES

• In 2006, more than 360 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the desert plain of Mina, where pilgrims carried out the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual.
  The day before the 2006 Hajj began, an eight-storey building being used as a hostel near the Grand Mosque in Mecca collapsed, killing at least 73 people.
• Two years earlier, a crush of pilgrims at Mina killed 244 pilgrims and injured hundreds on the final day of the Hajj ceremonies.
• In 2001, a stampede at Mina during the final day of the pilgrimage ceremonies killed 35 pilgrims.
• The worst Hajji tragedy occurred in 1990, where 1,426 pilgrims died during a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.