TANZANIA GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL LAB ON FAULTY COVID-19 RESULTS

By Osoro Nyawangah, DODOMA Tanzania

The government of Tanzania has on Monday suspended the Director of the National Health Referral Laboratory and the head of quality control with immediate effect.

Director of the National Health
Referal Laboratory, Nyambura Moremi

The move comes a day after Tanzania's President, John Magufuli, questioned authenticity of Covid-19 testing results from the sole country’s laboratory.

In a press release made available today, the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, Ummy Mwalimu, directed Dr. Nyambura Moremi who is the Director of National Health Referal Laboratory and the Head of Quality Control at the facility, Jacob Lusekelo to step aside pending further investigations.

She further formed a committee of nine members who will spearhead investigations on the purchase, conduct and operation of the national laboratory in the handling of the Covid-19 samples.

The committee will be led by Professor Eligius Lyamuya from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and expected to deliver timely results to the ministry of health by May 13, 2020.

Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, Ummy Mwalimu

While addressing the nation on yesterday after swearing-in of the new Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Mwigulu Nchemba, the President said there could be a serious credibility problem with the issue of coronavirus testing in the country.

The president said he had instructed Tanzanian security forces in collaboration with newly appointed Permanent Secretary of Health to check the quality of the kits. 

"In checking the authenticity of the kits we had randomly obtained several non-human samples, including from a pawpaw, a goat and a sheep, but had assigned them human names, sex and ages." Said Magufuli.

He said the samples were then submitted to Tanzania’s laboratory to test for the coronavirus, with the lab technicians left deliberately unaware of their origins.

Samples from the pawpaw and the goat tested positive for COVID-19, the president said, adding this meant it was likely that some people were being tested positive when in fact they were not infected by the coronavirus.

“There is something happening. I said before we should not accept that every aid is meant to be good for this nation,” Magufuli said, adding the kits should be investigated.

On May 16 this year, Tanzania recorded first case of COVID-19 and since then, the President has consistently been changing key officers in the Ministry of Health.

Permanent Secretary of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, Prof. Mabula Mchembe (R) taking oath of office before President Magufuli.

On April 22, he moved Permanent Secretary, Dr. Zainab Chaula from Health ministry to Communication, replacing her with Prof. Mabula Mchembe. On the same day he appointed Prof. Abel Makubi as Chief Medical Officer, replacing Prof. Mohamed Kambi who was retired.

On May 2, the President fired the Director of Medical Stores Department (MSD), Laurian Bwanakunu, replacing him with army officer, Brigadier General Gabriel Mhidize.

The Tanzania government has been heavily criticized by opposition leaders on the failure to provide daily updates about COVID-19. This lack of updates led to speculations that the government were concealing the true number of cases.

From data reported last Wednesday, Tanzania has recorded 480 confirmed cases, 167 recovered and 16 deaths so far with unknown number of people tested. - Africa