Opposition MPs question Museveni public engagement despite contracting Covid

Opposition Members of Parliament have raised questions as to why President Museveni on Wednesday engaged with the public after testing positive for Covid-19.
While at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds where he delivered the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Mr Museveni announced that one of three tests he took after feeling a cold returned positive.

Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) in the prevention and fight against Covid-19 dictate that patients of the airborne disease isolate or avoid areas where many people are converged.
Dr Timothy Batuwa, Jinja west MP also Shadow Minister for Health questioned thus: “The President  having tested positive, but proceeded to come and join Ugandans gathered at Kololo is causing us  to question what purpose these tests serve. We thought when you test positive you have to keep away. So now we are conflicted in understanding. Are they serving a purpose that is medical or are we doing these test such that there is income to some of these shortlisted companies that are doing these tests?”

He added: “As the Opposition we want to be informed what the purpose of doing Covid tests is because we know for anybody to attend a function where the President is, it is mandatory to do a test. This test is not less than shs100,000 and is  a very big burden on the taxpayer and that is why we are interested.”
“For two weeks all MPS who attended the SONA yesterday should be isolated, including the Speaker,” Mr Gilbert Olanya, Kilak South MP said, adding that thousands could be at risk due to the President’s actions.
Mr Olanya opines that officials at the ministry of Health and President Museveni are using the mass tests to try and make accountability for the huge sums invested in the pandemic fight.
“Covid is here to stay. For them they would wish Covid to stay forever because of the benefit they are gaining. Right now, everywhere world over is no more but for Uganda our Covid is here to stay. During Covid time, many people donated; vehicles, money but when we ask where these donations are, no one will explain,” Mr Olanya said.

Mr Muwada Nkunyingi, Kyadondo East MP, said the President’s actions amount to misbehavior and endangers lives of thousands of people, and could be the basis for legislators to evoke Article 107 of the Constitution, which details grounds for removal of a president.
Opposition MPs stayed away from the Wednesday address protesting careless spending by the government on all individuals who go to meet the President or the First Lady.
State House has not given up on mandatory tests even after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Covid-19 no longer constituted a global health emergency.
President Museveni is known to meticulously adhere to SoPs to circumvent the virus since its outbreak in 2019, and has only recently started to appear in public without wearing a face mask. He arrived at Kololo in a separate car from his wife Janet Museveni yesterday, and did not take a group photo with the Parliamentary leadership.
Dr Nicholas Kamara, Kabale Municipality MP, says this should be the last time MPs or any one going to meet the President undergoes mandatory testing which he opines was being done to protect the President but “now he has tested positive and not died,” adding that Uganda remains the only Country where you must test when you are going to meet the President.

President speaks out on testing positive for Covid
President Museveni has said he is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.
“When I came back from Kololo (yesterday), it was confirmed that I had Corona. I have therefore, self-isolated at Nakasero and I have delegated my work for today and tomorrow (Heroes’ Day in Luwero) to Prime Minister, Robinah Nabanjja,” Mr Museveni said via his Twitter handle, Thursday afternoon.
He added: “As everybody knows, I have been very cautious with Corona. However, recently, I had to give up masks because they have been causing me allergic reactions in the eyes and also in the throat.”
The President said on Tuesday after an interactive retreat in Kyankwanzi with MPs, he started experiencing mild flu-like symptoms.

“However, I ignored the feeling and had my meetings in Entebbe as well as working on my voluminous State of the Nation Address. Yesterday [Tuesday] morning, however, I noticed some mild flu-like symptoms in one of the nostrils (the right one),” his tweet reads.
He continues: “That is when I called my doctors to take samples and rule out Corona. They took three samples- one rapid and two Polymerase Chain Reaction tests. The rapid one was negative and so was one of the PCRs. However, one of the PCRs was positive.”

The cases of Covid-19 have greatly declined in the country since 2022. Most people who get infected experience mild symptoms that may disappear without treatment, according to health experts.
Since the outbreak of the virus in the country in 2020, there are 170, 602 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 3,632 deaths, according to data from the Health Ministry.