Man Jose Kayima
President Museveni has attributed the deaths of almost 3,000 people during the COVID-19 pandemic to the “irresponsible” conduct of Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine during the 2021 presidential elections.
During the election campaigns, Bobi Wine’s supporters had dozens of street battles with security forces as police tried to stop him from holding big gatherings.
Police argued then that rallies were super spreaders of COVID-19, an argument Bobi Wine’s team rejected.
Bobi accused the government of trying to block him from mobilising a critical mass to support his presidential bid.
On X, Museveni said “Bobi Wine’s conduct is irresponsible, just like they increased the infection of corona through the same recklessness.”
He added: “That is how we lost 3,291 people. Prior to those reckless rallies, we had lost only about 300 people.”
Museveni was responding to a question from an X user who was wondering why Bobi Wine’s rallies were being stopped while concerts were allowed in spite of the threat of terrorist bombs.
“This is an issue of discipline. The concerts are prepared, the areas cordoned off, people entering the venue go through checks, etc,” he added.
During the first wave of COVID-19 in Uganda, cases started peaking in August 2020 with a small peak recorded in September and the highest peak recorded in December 2020.
The second wave seen in 2021 peaked in the month of June and with the third wave starting to peak in December 2021.
Experts said then that the strain on health systems caused by overwhelming cases of COVID-19 may have contributed to higher overall mortality rates due to a lack of timely and adequate care for other health conditions at healthcare facilities.
