By Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi
MASAKA. During the 2021 Presidential campaign, government instituted movemen and gathering restrictions to deter the spread of Covid19 but National Unity Platform President Bobi Wine defied the orders consequently leading to his arrest in Luuka in November 2020.
His fanatic supporters rioted thinking they would cause the change of government. They failed.
Mid-September, Uganda announced an Ebola outbreak in the areas of Mubende and Kassanda. Quarantines were slapped in those two districts.
President Museveni has done massive steps sensitizing the population. But some leaders such as Bobi Wine have not heeded.
For example, on Friday, the Task Force resolved that if the National Task Force at the Ministry of Health realizes that a football match organized by National Unity Platform at Masaka Recreation Ground near Yellow Knife where the late Hasifah resided may be a mass spreader as many of the contacts had not reported and are likely to go and watch the match, it should be postponed.
On Saturday, I was on radio Buddu in the mid-day talk show, and made the announcement twice. After that we went for burial of my other relative, Prince Anatoli Mukasa, heir to the late Kabaka Edwad Muteesa’s minister Ambassador Leonard Basudde at Kabwami in Lwengo District, where there were NUP leaders, l gave them similar information.
However, upon reaching Kampala, I found NUP bodaboda cyclists riding to Masaka, where Bobi Wine was the chief guest. The National Task Force communicated to Masaka city RCC Ronald Katende Kinene advising that the match be postponed.
We circulated this communication far and wide, but NUP leaders defiantly, went ahead with the match that ended in tear gas. That was not surprising as even during last presidential campaign, Bobi Wine was defiant about covid19 and that was why he was temporarily arrested at Luuka after which his fanatical supporters rioted in Kampala, thinking that it would cause the fall of government.
My general appeal is that officials concerned should not soften next time, as it was the case in Masaka, if they get advice from experts. Prevention is better than power.
Baganda say: Enkuba eryokanga n’etonnya ne tulaba ensisiira bwezenkanya emyoyo (literary meaning that it Is after an outbreak of a problem that one realizes whether society has capacity to contain). This is well illustrated with one case of Ebola in Masaka city where a daughter of my maternal nephew was a victim.
Hasifah Nannunji, a daughter of my nephew Musa Kamulegeya aka Bandali at Yellow Road in Kimaanya Kabonera Division, was diagnosed with Ebola and upon referral at Entebbe, she succumbed died last week.
She left Kabowa complaining of fever and even had a miscarriage. She was taken to St. Francis Clinic where some symptoms of Ebola were visible and thus referred to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital until when her samples were taken to Entebbe, the results were positive.
Nannunji was rushed to Entebbe in a special ambulance, and her mother, who was nursing her was also taken to Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation center.
However, the father went into hiding and even switched off his known phone numbers. The three sisters that were also nursing her are yet to be isolated as they and neighbors vehemently deny that Hasifah died of Ebola. Efforts by Masaka City Task Force to convince them to go for isolation have not yet born fruits.
However, over 20 people including nurses in touch with the deceased have been isolated.
Immediately after the outbreak of the epidemic in Mubende, l convened a City Task Force meeting. Last Friday a second meeting was held where we had representatives from Ministry of Health and the area MP Dr. Abed Bwanika, a veterinary doctor. We agreed to roll out a massive sensitization by not only health educators, but all leaders including politicians, traditional and religious leaders.
In our initial meeting, we realized that Greater Masaka borders with Mubende, and in one way or another we will be affected by the epidemic. However, the past five cases that were proved negative, and the two recent cases including this positive one, have proven that the patients are not residents of Masaka city.
In 1978, Amin talked about a sexually transmitted disease from Tanzanian where victims lost weight (slimmed) but people did not take him seriously as he was ever in a hostile propaganda campaign with Tanzania as the then Tanzanian President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere had harbored and supported rebels that were fighting his fascist regime.
Even when the disease was realized as early as 1981 and samples were taken from Kasensero landing site to Atlanta in Georgia, it was confirmed as HIV-AIDS. Obote ll’s cabinet decided conceal the facts and locals took the disease as witchcraft.
It was President Museveni upon, capturing state power in 1986 that officially announced that there was a scourge of HIV-AIDS in the country and he set up the Aids Control Program and later Uganda Aids Commission which vigorously sensitized the people on the new disease and positive results are seen all over. Many other countries learnt from Uganda.
Haji Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi is a veteran journalist and a Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Masaka City in charge of Kimaanya-Kabonera City Division.
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