Uganda: Pilgrim arrested in Mecca over alleged theft

(SomaliNet) The Uganda Hajj Mission has revealed that a Ugandan pilgrim to Mecca is being detained in Saudi Arabia for alleged theft.

Under the Islamic law, or Sharia, he faces amputation of the left hand.

Hajji Suudi Nsereko was arrested on December 19 during the climax of the Hajj rites, according to the mission’s chairman, Sheikh Ibrahim Kirya.

The Uganda Hajj Mission is one of the organisations that facilitate Muslims to travel to Mecca for the pilgrimage.

Nsereko was among over 1,000 Ugandans who left for Mecca last month to perform the annual pilgrimage. Kirya said it took them two days to discover that Nsereko was missing.

“We managed to trace him after four days at Mecca police station and we helped him record a statement because he could neither speak English nor Arabic.”

Kirya said Nsereko is being held at Mecca general prison in Riyadh, waiting to be formally charged in court, which could take up to 40 days, according to the Saudi laws.

Nsereko is a businessman based in Mbarara He buys matooke from farmers and sells it to Kampala markets. He is married with two wives.

Three weeks before the start of Hajj, the Saudi government announced a massive security swoop. The Police netted a total of 208 suspects who were accused of plotting attacks against the kingdom’s oil infrastructure.-New Vision