It was an act of kindness- Health Ministry denies selling Covid vaccines to Kampala businessman
The Ministry of Health has dismissed as untrue, reports linking government to the alleged sale of Covid vaccines Kampala businessman, Hamis Kiggundu of Ham Enterprises.
Daily Monitor on Monday morning reported that questions have been asked over the manner in which the businessman had been given 2000 doses of the scarce covid vaccine to immunise his workers and tenants.
Keep Reading
The development came two weeks after Kiggundu donated shs530 million to the Covid task force to help in the procurement of vaccines.
However, in a statement released on Monday morning, Ministry of Health spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona explained that whereas it is true the vaccines were given to the businessman, it was an act of kindness to support vaccination efforts in the country.
“Due to the ongoing lockdown, a measure instituted to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country, there has been a general low turn up for vaccination in Kampala Capital City. This, therefore, prompted the Ministry of Health to adjust the rollout plan and allocate more vaccines to Wakiso District where most of the people in Kampala reside,” Ainebyoona said in the statement.
“On July, 3, 2021, Hamis Kiggundu, a Kampala Businessman, volunteered to mobilize eligible people among the business community for vaccination by transporting them and ensuring that all COVID-19 SOPs are fully adhered to. This act of kindness to support the COVID-19 vaccination exercise is in no way linked to the donation that he offered. It should be noted that Mr. Kiggundu’s contribution will be merged with the efforts of Government to procure additional vaccines, a process that is underway.”
According to the health ministry, similar vaccination outreach exercises have been carried out at various office premises including Uganda Revenue Authority, IGG and the Uganda National Oil Company among others.
“The Ministry would like to emphasize that all COVID-19 vaccines administered in Uganda are free of charge. In the same vein, we appeal to the media fraternity to adhere to factual reporting rather than misinforming the public.”
Backlash
The development came on the backdrop of a backlash especially from social media commentators who have accused government of selling Covid vaccines to the Kampala businessman.
https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/07/03/how-nabbanja-saved-the-day-as-shs530m-donated-by-ham-to-covid-task-force-survived-being-stolen/
