Maryland State Del. Adrian Boafo wants new regulations for tour operators following the June 2024 deaths of three Bowie residents while on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which was organized through a Silver Spring-based business.
Boafo has introduced House Bill 1106, a bill he told a committee in Annapolis would require travel agencies and tour operators to register with the Maryland Department of Labor each year.
At the hearing Wednesday, Boafo said, “This will also ensure a public list will be available to all Marylanders of those companies in good standing.”
Sitting with him at the witness table were Saida Wurie and her brother, Ali.
Wurie told committee members that her parents, 71-year-old Alieu Wurie and his wife, 65-year-old Isatu, had each paid $11,000 for what was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, she said, “On their journey, they walked for hours after being promised transportation. They went days without meals after paying and being promised” those same meals. Her parents, and a third traveler, 61-year-old Fatmata Koroma, also of Maryland, died on the trip.
The three were among the more than 1,300 people who died during the extreme heat experienced during the Hajj pilgrimage.
Wurie told lawmakers she hoped that Boafo’s bill would be passed to protect other families in the future.
Deputy Secretary for the Maryland Department of Labor Jason Perkins Cohen testified in favor of the bill as well, telling the panel, “without this bill, the department has no ability, no authority to oversee the industry at all, which is why the bill is so important.”
The Washington Post first reported on the experiences of the Wuries and Koroma.
WTOP reached out to the company used by the Wuries, “E-Hajj & Umrah Tours.” The website for the Silver Spring business is now listed as private, and the last social media post on the company’s X account dates back to September 2023.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
