Health Minister, Jane Ruth Aceng's appearance in a crowd without a mask and no recommended social distancing show how careless most Ugandans go about their lives.
President Museveni in several of his addresses has stated how complacent Ugandans can get, a reason for the continued lockdown on arcades, places of worship, saloons, bars and education institutions.
Dr Aceng's blunder on public standard operating procedures set by her Ministry in an effort to stem #coronavirus is regrettable and has since built a firestorm of criticism from social and traditional media.
The general public is upset by her inexcusable flouting of COVID-19 guidelines.
Her exceptional calling to serve
Aceng's eagerness to stand for the people of Lira as a woman representative may have contributed to all this. In her Facebook video, Aceng is seen glorifying the people of Lango for their unwavering support.
Aceng has continued to gather a large following since her public service tenure in Lira District years ago. Owing to her remarkable performance, the brilliant surgeon was hand-picked by the President to head the Health Ministry.
Fast forward to the upsurge of the Coronavirus Epidemic, Dr Aceng is the lead brain behind the measures put in place that have kept the pandemic at bay.
She is the darling of a majority Ugandans who call her Mama Corona, she is the social media face of all the daily COVID-19 results coming out of her ministry and this is playing to her advantage.
If we die, we die!
However, Dr Aceng's crowd doesn't want to know! Yesterday, a camera phone clip that circulated on social media appeared to show exhilarated crowd welcoming her home.
A crowd of supporters singing in unison, some wearing face masks by their chin with less regard to social distancing guidelines chanted in a procession.
Dr Aceng was seen following closely from behind as multitudes thronged the murram road filled with joy and happiness.
Coronavirus Surges
The recent relaxation of COVID-19 lockdowns by governments the world over have seen a marked resurgence of the virus. South Africa has moved to reinstate lockdown and curfews due to the second wave of infections.
Kenya reported 10,000 cases; a spike of 369 cases, the United States has recorded over 3 million cases and Uganda has passed the 1000 mark.
The Minister of Information, Judith Nabakooba warned that Dr Aceng's Lira glitch shouldn't be an excuse for others to flout COVID-19 guidelines.
Nonetheless, Aceng has come to refute allegations that she was consulting with residents of Lira for her political ambitions.
In a statement released yesterday, Dr Aceng states that she was only launching the regional mask distribution exercise.
Dr Aceng statement on Lira gathering
I would like to reiterate that I was not holding a political rally.
I was launching the distribution of face masks in Aromo Sub-county and training people on how to properly use the masks on Friday 10 July 2020.
However, at the time, village health teams (VHTs) and other youth were also being oriented on the processes for distribution of the long-lasting mosquito net distribution nearby.
They got excited when they heard about face masks, and specifically the Minister for Health whom they call 'mama Corona' and rushed to see me. They were difficult to control as seen in the picture as many wanted to take pictures and also get masks from me.
I took the time to educate these youth on the same as well as on the face masks. They left as very knowledgeable people appreciating the importance of face masks and social distancing.
As the Minister who is at the helm of the Corona response and an aspiring Woman MP of Lira District, I am cognizant of the rules and guidelines that we as a government have put in place.
I continue to appeal to you all to wear your masks, maintain social distance and wash your hands with soap regularly to prevent #COVID9.
Uganda's opposition has come out bare hands and knuckles to condemn Dr Aceng's untouchable attitude.
They foresee NRM candidates having public rallies, guarded by the military while opposition candidates will be beaten by the same military for breaking COVID-19 public safety guidelines.
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