About 500 pilgrims returned home from Makkah and Madinah, in Saudi Arabia aboard the Ethiopian Airlines Charter flight at 11.30pm, July 08, 2023.
Among the pilgrims was a group of five Ugandan Muslims sponsored by the State of Qatar, under supervision of the Office of the Presidential Special Envoy to the State of Qatar.
A total of 1400 Ugandans performed
this year’s pilgrimage.
This year’s pilgrims brings to about 100, the number of Ugandan Muslims who have been sponsored by Qatar to perform the 5th pillar of Islam – the pilgrimage to holy land in Makkah and Madinah. The initiative for sponsorship was started following the appointment of Ambassador Dr. Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu by H.E. President Yoweri Museveni.
Speaking at his thanksgiving ceremony (Shukuru), at Kawempe Mbogo, Kawempe Division in Kampala, Superintendent of Police (SP), Haji Sulait
Kitaka, expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Ssemuddu, the State of
Qatar, and His Highness the Emir, for the opportunity to fulfil the cardinal pillar of Islam.
Haji Kitaka served as District Police Commander (DPC) Kajjansi, before he was transferred. It was while serving at Kajjansi that he met Ambassador Ssemuddu, through community policing activities.
Speaking at the same ceremony, Ambassador Ssemuddu conveyed his
utmost appreciation to His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
He also thanked His Excellency Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the entire government of Qatar, for the continued generous offer of Hajj slots to Ugandans, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, on an annual basis since 2015.
He thanked H.E. President Yoweri Museveni for appointing him Ambassador of Uganda to Riyadh and Non-Resident Ambassador to the
State of Qatar, and later the Presidential Special Envoy to the State of Qatar.
He added that it was during his tour of duty that he was able to get the opportunities that would facilitate Ugandans to perform the Hajj.
Ambassador Ssemuddu thanked his Qatari counterpart, Ambassador Jabor Al Dosari for coordination of the programme for the pilgrimage.
He congratulated the Muslim pilgrims for fulfilling the 5th pillar, enabling them to complete the last cardinal spiritual obligation as Muslims.
Muslims with financial means and are of sound health, are enjoined to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah, once in their lifetime.
Pilgrims to the holy land customarily earn the title of Hajj for men and Hajjat for women. The most enduring lessons from the Hajj, according to the majority of former pilgrims, is humility, a deep sense of humanity, charity and patience.
“We salute the bilateral relationship between Uganda and the State of Qatar, the existence of which has enabled the signing of a number of bilateral agreements and ushered the two countries into a mutually beneficial diplomatic, economic and social dispensation,”Ambassador Ssemuddu expounded.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
