Activists: "Gov't using Covid-19 vaccination status to abuse rights of people"

Social activists have said it is unfortunate that any scrutiny on education sector is being perceived as an attack on the person of the First Lady of Uganda hindering the public to asked pertinent questions the sector.

The remarks were made during a virtual town hall meeting under the topic “From lockdowns to liberty; debunking myths, interrogating the "science", and the place of human rights and freedoms post-Covid-19”

According to the human rights lawyer, Simon Ssenyonga, the public is not able to interrogate the challenges in the education sector for fear that they would be taken as if they are attacking the First Lady who is also the Minister of Education, making the situation worse.

“Students are being illegally discriminated against and their right to education is being abused. University students are being locked out on the basis of vaccination status. A scrutiny on education is perceived as an attack on the person of the First Lady of Uganda. One is not able to interrogate the challenges in the education sector, ”said Ssenyonga.

He noted many students are being hindered from attending lectures because they are not vaccinated, saying that the entire education system is shambles and this must stop so that these learners are able to enjoy their rights.

“The education system is not okay as kids can't attend physical classes for two years and some of the students are worried as they might be stopped from attending lectures because of not getting vaccinated at their will," he said.

Jeffrey Tucker, the founder, Brownstone Institute & former editorial director, American Institute of Economic Research said it is very dangerous for children not to be around other children and play together because it cripples their immune system to live in isolation.

Tucker said churches are being discriminated against by bad science because Olympics and police brutality happened but were not considered super spreader events.

"I can't believe that the church is allowed to be locked down like this. We are supposed to have religious liberty but for over a year, we haven't had that,”said Tucker.

Agatha Atuhairwe, a journalist and social commentator stated that as the country continues to fight Covid-19, the media is being censored because the Ministry of Health controls the narrative so that it can be criminal to disagree with their narrative.

She said the pandemic is being used to abuse human rights, adding that whether the country is locked or not, there will always be issues with Covid-19.

"You can't put a lockdown because of Covid-19 and forget that we are living in a hand to mouth economy. Pregnant mothers suffered the most because during the first lockdown where they had to foot to the hospital. If you look at young girls getting pregnant at home, it’s worrying," she noted.

Dr. Carol Atugonza, a biomedical scientist and researcher, disagreed with the compulsory vaccination as by nature, saying human beings are born with immunity to fight against diseases.