Concerns over Ghana's Hajj management system have been raised when Mahama Ayariga, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, said that two Muslim pilgrims from his area who participated in the 2025 Hajj trip are still missing.
On the House floor, Mr. Ayariga, who is also the Majority Leader in Parliament, revealed the information. He attributed the difficulty in tracking the locations of certain pilgrims to their senior age and linguistic limitations.
Two of my pilgrims are not under my control. Since some of them are elderly, I have been phoning our consular officer there to ask for assistance in locating them. You go to an event with over a million people, and they don't know any other language and aren't educated," he remarked.
The MP speculated that the missing pilgrims could have lost their way in Saudi Arabia's dense throng. He pointed out that a lack of education and a lack of knowledge of other languages make it difficult for many first-time visitors from rural areas to adjust to the surroundings.
"It's getting really difficult, and a lot of them are travelling outside of Ghana for the first time, so sometimes they get confused with other countries when they get there," he said.
In order to better manage pilgrimage organisation, Mr. Ayariga recommended the adoption of a specific Hajj legislation and asked for immediate cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Therefore, we should collaborate with the Foreign Affairs Minister when we are unable to account for our people after the Hajj. I have indicated that instead of Hajj being a committee issue, it could be time for this House and the nation to have legislation on the subject," he remarked.
Former Defence Minister and Bimbilla MP Dominic Nitiwul shared his worries and asked the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs to report to Parliament on how the 2025 pilgrimage will be managed.
Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister of Local Government, responded by saying that when the Hajj Committee, headed by Collins Dauda, publishes its report, the House would be properly apprised.
"You have to be precise when informing the Parliament. To assist this nation in preventing future recurrences, you are posing this question. We'll file a report. Let's use moderation. We can come and properly inform you after Collins Dauda's committee submits a report," he said.
Confusion is increased by a case of accidental death.
The disclosure follows a strange event in which Fatima Kassim, a pilgrim from Madina, Ghana, was mistakenly pronounced dead in Saudi Arabia, leading to a funeral for her family. She later made it home alive, leaving the locals perplexed and terrified.
Madina: A woman who was pronounced dead on the Hajj comes home alive
Officials from the Hajj Taskforce said the confusion was caused by two patients at a Saudi hospital who did not have passports being mistakenly identified. One was a member of the official Ghanaian delegation, while the other was on a tourist visa.
"We are misidentified. Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, a member of the Hajj Taskforce, said, "The most important thing is that the lady is alive and everything is over."
"Usually, when it happens, it is the embassy that takes control, so they issued the certificate," said Alhaji Iddi Sumaila, Director of Administration of the Hajj Taskforce. We replaced it in error because we knew one was gone and the other was being in.
The occurrences have sparked new demands for improved governance, procedures, and changes to protect pilgrims' well-being.
.jpg)
