The government has set up a special desk at the Immigration Department to help Muslims planning to travel to Mecca for Haji make easy arrangements.
Kenyans making previous trips have often faced inconveniences.
Muslim faithful will go for Haji immediately after observing the holy month of Ramadhan which ends in about three weeks. Going for Haji is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims are required to visit the pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime.
National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale on Sunday said those planning to make the trip should liaise with the immigration officials for smooth arrangements.
“This time around, there will be proper coordination from those charged with the responsibility of ensuring that things go on smoothly,” Duale said.
He spoke during the closing ceremony of the annual Quran memorisation competition among students from various madrasa and Quran centers held at Masjid Ibn Qayim in Garissa town.
Citing past inconveniences, Duale said Muslims planning to make this year's trip have got no reason to worry because everything has been put in place.
The Garissa Township MP said the integration of the Madrasa/Duksi curriculum being undertaken with the help of Muslim institutions at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development was going on smoothly.
Muslim clerics have consistently urged the state to involve them in the integration of madrasa into the national curriculum.
Garissa Supkem chairman Abdullahi Salat said failure to involve them will affect the process. “As much as we support the integration, we don’t want a situation where the Muslim clerics are not involved. The whole process should be driven by the Muslim religious faith-based organisations,” Salat said.
Duale hit out at parents who abandon their responsibilities in bringing up morally upright children. He said it was unfortunate the role of modeling children and instilling discipline in learners had been left to teachers.
"My understanding is that the child first belongs to the parents, the teacher is only supposed to do very little in that regard,” Duale said.
Edited by P. Obuya
