Elizabeth Agiro
9 December 2007
Kampala — Reports a month before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) stated that a mysterious disease was killing people in western Uganda. This highly infectious disease was believed to have arisen from a dead goat and spread on contact with infected people. After CHOGM, however, the disease suddenly acquired a name - Ebola.
Many speculated the Government had deliberately hushed the news in anticipation of the big event. This would have definitely ruled Uganda out of hosting the long-awaited summit.In its wake, Ebola has claimed so many lives, including that of Dr. Jonah Kule, the Medical Superintendent of Kikyo Health Centre in Bundibugyo. But even as the medical fraternity battles the deadly disease, patients aren't making it any easier for them. One patient fled after she was placed in isolation for vomiting blood. Even long-standing aspects of our culture, say hugging and the handshake, are under threat.
While Ebola is taking its share of victims, four other epidemics have spread their tentacles in western and northern Uganda, killing many more and infecting thousands of others. Cholera, plague, meningitis and hepatitis, are also contagious. The plague alone has killed 10 of 121 infected people. Most affected are women who sleep on the floor unless their husbands invite them to bed for sex. Health state minister Emmanuel Otaala has blamed the outbreaks on climate change.
While the Government lacks the necessary funds to combat the diseases in their infant stages, there were definitely enough funds to go around for the CHOGM last month. A total of sh276b was used to repair roads and support private hotels through co-investment. The money also went into upgrading the security infrastructure. With the summit out of the way, donors have demanded accountability for the funds spent. They expressed interest in whether value for money for contracts was received and if the procurement law was followed. They hope that those suspected of misappropriating the funds will be brought to book within the given legal framework.
However, there was nothing untoward in the donors' concern over the creation of new districts and sub-counties in the country. In a statement, the donors asked that the creation of these entities be based on robust and careful analysis and consideration. They warned that more districts would create more sub-counties, which sub-counties would in later years also demand for district status. Meanwhile, Makerere University cancelled the examinations of 550 students after whistle-blowers alerted authorities about two leaked exams. It is believed some lecturers leaked the scripts to mainly female students. Those who weren't part of the clique felt obliged to unearth the scheme in anonymous letters to the law faculty dean, Dr. Sylvia Tamale.
In another absurd situation, a service at St. Joseph's Church in Kinoni, Masaka was disrupted when a woman realised her three-month-old baby had been stolen. The congregation abandoned the service and mounted a search, eventually cornering an HIV-positive female believed to have been taking the baby away to offer it as a ritual sacrifice.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The climax of campaigns for the Bugweri County MP seat will culminate in elections to decide who of the seven candidates takes the seat. The seat fell vacant after the Supreme Court found state minister for information Kirunda Kivejinja guilty of bribing and intimidating voters. The race, however, has mainly focused on Abdu Katuntu and Kivejinja.
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