The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine has revealed that the ministry did not participate in paying socialite Shanitah Namuyimbwa alias Bad Black.
For close to a week, Bad Black had accused the government of using her services in a Coronavirus sensitization effort and not paid her.
However, on Saturday afternoon, Bad Black revealed that she had finally been fully paid by friends of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), who led by events promoter Balaam Barugahare.
Health ministry officials on Sunday afternoon held a press conference where they accounted for all the funds the ministry has received and spent during the Coronavirus pandemic period.
Dr. Atwine insisted that the ministry did not pay off Bad Black, re-affirming the government's position that it did not have a contract with her.
Dr. Atwine said, "Ministry of Health did not participate in paying Bad Black. What I saw was information on social media that friends of NRM came together and contributed some money."
"It wouldn't have been proper for us to pay someone with no contract, you don't handle government resources like that." Dr. Atwine added.
Dr. Atwine said that Precision Media, the firm which contacted Bad Black for the advert, assumed that Bad Black contributed her services as a volunteer to the Covid-19 sensitization as other Ugandans had.
"Even the company that contacted her didn't get anything. They contacted us to voluntarily come up with the adverts," Dr. Atwine said.
It is still not clear how much Bad Black received but the socialite had earlier demanded shs 500 million from the Ministry of Health.
Unlike her dealings with the Ministry of Health and Precision Media which were said to have been verbal, Bad Black on Saturday was made to sign an agreement confirming the payment of the undisclosed fee and that she will not attack the government again.
Speaking shortly after receiving the box which was said to be carrying the money, Bad Black said she will not attack the Ministry of Health anymore.
"I have been fully settled by National Resistance Movement supporters with the help of Balaam. Now my children can feed well with this money," Bad Black said.