Thousands of miles from Freetown, 2,626 Sierra Leonean Muslims from home and across the diaspora are converging on the holy cities for one of the largest national Hajj contingents in recent years.
The first batch of 267 home-based Sierra Leonean pilgrims arrived safely at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah on Friday afternoon, marking the formal beginning of Sierra Leone’s 1447/2026 Hajj journey. They join the first and second batches of 298 diaspora pilgrims who landed in Madinah on Saturday and Monday respectively in what is shaping up to be one of the country’s most organised Hajj deployments in recent years.
The pilgrims were welcomed at the airport by the leadership and staff of the Sierra Leone Embassy in Saudi Arabia, alongside the advance team of the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj. The reception, warm and spiritually charged, featured fresh Saudi dates and the timeless Islamic songTala’a al-Badru ‘Alayna the song with which the people of Madinah welcomed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) upon his migration more than fourteen centuries ago sung to greet the new arrivals on their arrival in the same blessed city.
Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, H.E. Mohammed Barrie, was present at the airport to receive the pilgrims alongside Deputy Ambassador Abdul Aziz Turay and key Embassy staff. “The Deputy Ambassador, Abdul Aziz Turay, key Embassy staff, and I are here to give our fullest support to the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj to ensure our pilgrims have a successful 2026 Hajj,” the Ambassador said. “This fulfils the mandate given to us by H.E. President Dr. Julius Maada Bio.”
The pilgrims have been accommodated at the Kiyan International Hotel and Bara Taiba Hotel, both situated a two-minute walk from Masjid Al-Nabawi the Mosque of the Prophet allowing them to observe their daily prayers at one of the holiest sites in Islam throughout their two-day stay in Madinah.
Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Hajj, Alhaji Murtada Sesay, was himself among the first batch of home-based pilgrims who departed Freetown in the early hours of Friday. Speaking from Madinah, he described his role on the flight as one of active oversight rather than passive travel. “I provided the requisite leadership to ensure pilgrims on the flight went through all necessary check-in and arrival procedures,” Sesay said. “We paid special attention to first-time travellers to prevent luggage issues and ensure no one was left unattended.”
The Chairman confirmed that the second batch of home-based pilgrims would depart Freetown on 16th May, led by Deputy Chairman Ambassador Dr. Ibrahim Jalloh, while the third and final batch is scheduled to depart on 18th May, led by Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Alhaji Mohamed Haji-Kella.
The 826 home-based pilgrims from Sierra Leone are flying to Madinah in three batches via Ethiopian Airlines, a logistics arrangement that reflects the scale of coordination required to move the national contingent safely and efficiently across continents.
Also among the first batch is Presidential Adviser to State House and former Minister of Health and Tertiary Education, Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie, who described his feelings upon arrival with quiet reverence. “I am very excited and feel fulfilled to perform Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam,” Prof. Wurie told this writer words that echo what millions of Muslims across centuries have felt upon setting foot in Madinah for the first time.
The pilgrims will rest in Madinah on Saturday, perform Ziyarah visits to the historical and sacred sites of the city on Sunday, before travelling by bus to Makkah on Monday for Umrah and the formal Hajj rites, which commence on Monday, 25th May 2026, corresponding to the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah 1447 in the Islamic lunar calendar.
According to the official schedule, the 2026 Hajj will take place from May 26 to May 31, 2026, and Sierra Leonean pilgrims are expected to return between June 5 and June 8.
Meanwhile, 45 Sierra Leonean diaspora pilgrims from The Gambia also landed safely in Madinah on Friday at 17:05 KSA time, adding to the growing Sierra Leonean presence in the holy city.
A member of the Sierra Leone-America Hajj Agency based in Maryland, Mohamed L. Bah, confirmed that a total of 199 Sierra Leonean pilgrims in the USA and North America are performing this year’s Hajj under the Sierra Leone contingent, flying to Madinah from the USA, North America and Canada on different flights on May 14 and 15. Pilgrims from the UK, Canada, Europe, and Australia will also arrive in Madinah in separate batches under the Sierra Leone contingent in the coming days.
In total, 2,626 Sierra Leonean pilgrims are expected to perform this year’s Hajj: 826 home-based pilgrims travelling directly from Sierra Leone and 1,800 from the diaspora.
Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Mohamed Haji-Kella revealed ahead of departure that more than 7,600 Sierra Leoneans have successfully undertaken the pilgrimage since 2018, attributing that sustained figure to government commitment and effective coordination between the Presidential Hajj Task Force and Saudi authorities.
That record is the product of deliberate institutional effort. At a two-day pre-departure orientation held at the Gaddafi Mosque in early May, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh urged discipline, unity and mutual respect among intending pilgrims, commending the Task Force for what he described as excellent arrangements. Saudi Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Saud Al Musaed, also addressed the gathering, praising the longstanding relations between the two countries and describing the Hajj as a symbol of unity and shared faith among Muslims worldwide.
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For the 267 pilgrims who touched down in Madinah on Friday, those preparations are now behind them. What lies ahead is the journey that every able Muslim is called to make at least once five days of ritual, prayer, and solidarity with believers from every corner of the earth, performed in the places where the faith was born. For Sierra Leone’s contingent, the pilgrimage has begun.
