Death of six Kenyans in Hajj stampede was ‘an act of God’
The death of six Kenyans who were crushed to death during a stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, was “an act of God.”
The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Chairman Abdulghafur El-Busaidy on Tuesday said: “We see this as an act of God and we cannot say the Saudi Government is fully to blame. However, we will collect statements from the pilgrims and give a full report later.”
The Supkem chairman said at least nine more pilgrims from Kenya cannot be accounted for in the tragedy that left more than 700 pilgrims died.
He said the Kenyans were buried in Mecca and their families notified.
Prof El-Busaidy said some of the more than 4,000 Kenyans who were attending the Hajj have already started coming back, adding that most of them will return in a week.
He spoke during a press conference at the Supkem offices in Nairobi.
According to the Saudi health minister, Mr Khaled al-Falih, the number of pilgrims who died had risen to 769, while that of the injured is now 934.
The stampede occurred last week on Thursday morning during the ‘Stoning of the Devil’ ritual, the final step of the Hajj.
Prof El-Busaidy called on the Saudi Government to compensate families that lost their loved ones during the stampede.