Agents protest exclusion from 2026 Hajj planning

Coastal agents have protested exclusion from a crucial meeting to discuss next year's Hajj pilgrimage.

The meeting, which took place on July 5, was organised by the Supreme Council of Kenya.

The Vice Chairman of the Hajj and Umrah Association of Kenya Sheikh Abdulkadir Al-Ubeidy said the meeting was incomplete without the representation of all agents, particularly those from the Coast.

“We are the ones involved and in charge of pilgrimage and it is surprising that not a single agent from the coast was invited,” he said.

Al-Ubeidy, who has more than 33 years of experience as a Hajj agent, criticised the current coordination, saying Supkem's invitation of only 11 agents out of 65 nationwide was unfair.

He said Coast plays a significant role in the Hajj pilgrimage, with 40 per cent of the total pilgrims –1,800 out of 4,500 – coming from the region.

Al-Ubeidy questioned reasons behind the exclusion and accused Supkem of poor management in the past three years. 

“In my 33 years of experience, I have never witnessed such poor management. The 2026 Hajj will not be successful without full involvement of all agents, especially those from the coastal region,” he said. 

He said the work of the Supreme Council is to check on the work done by agents and their exclusion from the meeting raises concerns.

During last year’s Hajj, more than 300 people were forced to sleep outside the tents and had to withstand the scorching heat of the sun, despite paying for full accommodation.

Al-Ubeidy said there were only nine buses to ferry more than 4,500 people instead of the usual 40. 

He said they faced threats of being blacklisted because they wanted to speak out about what happened during this year’s Hajj.

“We have already relayed our concerns to the relevant authorities at Supkem, but we have not been given conclusive feedback. The success of the 2026 Hajj depends on the collaboration and involvement of all stakeholders, including agents from the coastal region,” Al-Ubeidy said.

The CEO of Harmain Agencies Khalid Abdulrahman also expressed concerns over Supkem's plans to deregister Hajj and Umrah travel agencies over “past minor mistakes".

“For the past years, mistakes happened but we solved them with the previous Supkem leadership in a friendly way,” he said.

However, Abdulrahman accused the current Supkem leadership of taking a harsh and punitive approach, threatening to completely shut out agencies over issues that could be resolved through dialogue. 

“When Supkem makes a mistake, we raise our grievances openly, even up to the level of the President, hoping our concerns will be heard,” he said.

The businessman said the unfair treatment of the agencies is a public embarrassment to the council.

“Correcting us should not mean embarrassing us out of nowhere,” Khalid said.

He said some bereaved families whose loved ones passed away before traveling for Hajj and Umrah, despite having already paid, have not been compensated.

“There are families that lost their relatives before traveling and are yet to be compensated,” he said.