Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Monday it had temporarily suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloriquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 being carried out across a range of countries as a precautionary measure. The decision came after publication last week of a study in The Lancet which …
Read More »Activists call for health tax
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) attending a virtual meeting on health financing on Monday highlighted the need for having a separate tax to finance health emergencies without straining the health system. They said though the government has over the years put up taxes …
Read More »Top aide in landmark DR Congo trial pleads innocence
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Vital Kamerhe, a major ally to DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, proclaimed his innocence on Monday as a historic trial for alleged corruption resumed. Kamerhe, 61, a veteran political figure who is also Tshisekedi’s chief of staff, is accused with others of having embezzled more …
Read More »Ministry directs educational institutions to pay staff
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Education and Sports has directed all private education institutions to duly pay their staff. Teachers and other workers in some educational institutions have reportedly gone two months without receiving their due salaries while several institutions had resorted to paying them lesser …
Read More »Soroti hospital receives first COVID-19 patients
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Soroti Regional Referral Hospital has received its first COVID-19 confirmed cases for treatment and management. The patients were brought aboard Teso Affairs Ambulance around 3:30 pm on Monday. The patients include three women and one girl. They were among the first 10 contacts of …
Read More »MTN, Airtel re-instate mobile money sending charges
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Telecom giants MTN Uganda and Airtel have announced they will be re-instating their charges on sending money ending the suspension that was meant to make it easy for users to go through the lockdown. During the last two months of the lockdown, customers were …
Read More »Owner of collapsed building charged with 19 counts
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The owner of the building which collapsed killing 13 people in Makindye has been charged with 19 counts. Abraham Kalanzi, aged 31-year-old, the owner of the collapsed building was charged before the Makindye One Magistrate Edith Mbabazi. He was charged alongside Engineer Christopher Bandi …
Read More »Burundi ruling party candidate Ndayishimiye wins election
Bujumbura, Burundi | AFP | Burundi’s ruling party presidential candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye on Monday was declared the victor of the bitterly disputed election, with 68.72 percent of the vote. The election commission, which released the official results live on Burundian media, said that his main opposition rival Agathon Rwasa of the National Freedom Council (CNL), …
Read More »The aching ordeal of a mothers’ stay in prison after a flawed trial
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A mother of seven who was arrested in Kampala, charged and erroneously imprisoned has finally reunited with her children after more than a month since the incident. Lillian Achiro, 41 was vending oranges, tangerine and lemons when she was arrested by the police for …
Read More »Prosecution yet to compile evidence against Sakwa
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The prosecution is yet to compile evidence against the interdicted Jinja Resident District Commissioner Erick Sakwa. Sakwa alongside Bumali Bazimbyewa and Mohammed Simba were last month charged with three counts of manslaughter, theft and malicious damage. They were later remanded to Kirinya prisons however, …
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