KAMPALA, Uganda
The decision to jail or fine people who violate lockdown rules and other Covid-19 safety protocols has sparked uproar, with human rights defenders and sections of the public accusing government officials of scandalising the fight against the pandemic.
In the amended Public Health (Control of Covid-19) rules, 2021, Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng has proposed a two-month jail sentence for people who violate Covid guidelines, even as it emerged that her counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, has sent proposed fines to the Health ministry for consideration.
An inter-ministerial team led by the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Patrick Ocailap, finalised a cocktail of Covid-19 fines last week but got stuck after the Solicitor General guided that the Public Health Act is a mandate of the Ministry of Health.
The Finance ministry has since forwarded the proposed fines to the Ministry of Health.
Sources close to the Finance docket told Sunday Monitor that the proposed fines were graded according to three categories of offences - normal, moderate, and severe.
A normal offence would, for instance, be one of not wearing a face mask and a first-time offender would be fined same amount regardless of his or her income status.
Operating or entering a pub/ nightclub or any other businesses that are banned from operating under the ongoing 42-day lockdown, would result in a higher fine as this has been categorised as a severe offence.
The proposed fines were proposed as a key measure to decongest prison facilities across the country and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections among prisoners.
While President Museveni had previously ordered that violators of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) would be compelled to pay fines as opposed to jail terms, in the new statutory instrument issued on July 1, Dr Aceng proposes a two-month jail term and doesn’t provide other options for the offenders.
Finance spokesperson Jim Mugunga yesterday confirmed that “The Ministry of Finance, working closely with other key sectors, including the Solicitor General, has already put on record and duly advised the Ministry of Health to expeditiously implement what it is legally mandated to do.”
Mr Mugunga reiterated that “As far as I am aware, the next steps fully depend on how fast the Ministry of Health acts to adopt the recommended advice and come up with the required Cabinet Paper. This is needed before amendments are approved for onward submission to Parliament. We are aware that this can be fast tracked....other agencies of government are ready to enforce through ticket link with police, NIRA and offenders. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Finance is not the lead agency to enable this process beyond what has been done.”
Ms Hellena Okiring, a city human rights defender, has criticised the decision to jail violators of SOPs in the midst of a deadly pandemic, accusing government of militarising the Covid-19 response and proposed that the focus be put on civic education to boost compliance.
"We have militarised the approach to fight a public health problem. Harassing people and putting them in jail defeats the whole purpose of saving lives by doing things which anger the public,” Ms Okiring said.
"Educate people about the problem of Covid-19 and find a constructive way of engaging offenders. Reward those exhibiting exemplary behaviour in as far as observing SOPs is concerned. The situation will definitely get better.”
Edward Otto Makmot, an advocate also questioned the two-month jail term and proposed that in a pandemic, sending people to prison should be the last resort. Others who talked to Sunday Monitor called the decision a “blunder” and wondered whether government understands the gravity of the current space crisis in prisons.
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