Over 900 Ugandan Muslims, who had planned to travel to Mecca for pilgrimage, are stranded after Saudi Arabia maintained a ban following the recent outbreak of Ebola.
The intending pilgrims, who should have left on October 10, had booked air tickets and made the necessary legal clearances for travel.
The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council pilgrimage leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Kiirya, said they received information through the Saudi Arabian consulate in Kampala that all Ugandan pilgrims were not cleared due to the Ebola outbreak.
The epidemic broke out in Kibaale district in July but was controlled and the country declared free of the Ebola last month.
Rukia Nakamatte, the public relations officer of the Ministry of Health, said they presented a report that declared Uganda free of Ebola to the Saudi Arabian government. http://allafrica.com/stories/201210121280.html
