A group of six Chinese nationals are expected to be arraigned in court for escaping quarantine at a hotel.
Government recently ordered that every traveler from the 16 highly infected countries who comes to Uganda must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine at their own cost.
However, the group escaped and was arrested together with their Ugandan driver and his wife in Zombo district on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo before being returned to Kampala.
On Sunday, the State Minister in charge of Primary Health, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu said the group will be arraigned before court on Monday.
“The six Chinese nationals, who were arrested in Zombo for excusing themselves from quarantine before 14 days, have been returned to Kampala today. They will be tried tomorrow in Nakawa. This is not a drill. Uganda has taken drastic measures that everyone is expected to follow,” the Minister said.
She revealed that the passports for the six Chinese nationals have also been withheld by authorities until the court case is disposed of.
“I hope the other people under quarantine can learn from this experience and follow the guidelines given. Please stay safe and stay vigilant.”
Last week, the Chief Justice, Bart Katureebe ordered that all court proceedings throughout the country should be suspended for a period of 32 days as part of the measures to deal with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic
He however noted that plea taking and bail for special cases will go on during the period.
The case of the six Chinese nationals therefore falls under the special cases as highlighted by the Chief Justice.
The Ugandan government slapped travel restrictions on travelers from Italy, US, UK, France, San Marino, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Malaysia, Germany, South Korea, China, Iran and Spain and individuals from those countries who insisted on coming to Uganda were ordered to undergo quarantine for at least 14 days at their own cost.
Despite neighbouring countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo recording a big number of coronavirus cases, Uganda has only recorded one that was detected on Sunday morning.