Nurses remanded for injecting Ugandans with water as Covid vaccine

The magistrate’s court in Nakawa has charged and remanded to prison, five people including a nurse and students for injecting Ugandans with water claiming it was the AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccine.

On Thursday, Kaana Majaabu,24, an enrolled nurse attached to Kiswa health centre III in Kampala, Vanessa Nassuuna,23, a nursing student at KIU, Gloria Katushabe,24 an enrolled midwife and proprietor of G.Marts Medical Centre in Gayaza, Nakiwolo Mubiru Rebecca,22, a student nurse at Access Health Training Institute and Francis Baguma,25 a businessman and student at Makerere University were arraigned before the  Nakawa Chief Magistrate, Douglas Singiza and several charges read for them.

The court accused the five of doing a negligent act likely to spread infection of disease, contrary to section 171 of the Penal Code Act when they unlawfully and negligently administered purported Covid vaccines to employees of several factories, organisations, and corporate entities.

According to court documents, employees for Hariss International Limited, KCL Limited, UBA bank, Kitintale branch, Diamond Trust Bank and Makss Packaging Limited were some of those who were injected with water as Covid vaccine.

The group was also charged with conspiracy to defraud, contrary to section 309 of the Penal Code Act for vaccinating employees of Hariss International Limited with purported Covid vaccines at a fee of shs8.4 million yet Covid vaccine is free of charge.

The state also charged Vanessa  Nassuuna, and Nakiwolo Mubiru Rebecca,  nursing students at KIU  and Access Health Training Institute respectively over unlawful possession of government stores contrary to section 316 of the Penal Code Act when without any permission were found with 694 pieces of auto-disable syringes with injection batch number 044621 and 1912403 which were property of the government of Uganda.

However, the group denied the charges and were remanded to Kitalya government prison until August,10, 2021.

The arrest of the group followed a tip-off to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and on being subjected to laboratory tests at the Government Analytical Laboratory(GAL) in Wadegeya, it was found out the members of the public got water instead of Covid vaccine.

When the National Drug Authority(NDA) forwarded samples of the fake Covid vaccine to the Serum Institute of India which is the manufacturer of Vaccines immuno-biologicals for comparison with genuine vaccines, it was confirmed the batch in question was never supplied to Uganda and that the labels on the vaccines were falsified.