Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has maintained her earlier statement that a disinfectant that “instantly kills” COVID19 (coronavirus) has been discovered and will be produced in Uganda.
Kadaga in her communication on Tuesday, remained unapologetic about her Monday statement that COVID19 spray is being co-produced in Uganda and that it will be in the market next week, free of charge for Ugandans.
Her statement was however, ridiculed on social media, including Uganda Medical Association (UMA) who addressed the media saying that there is “no medicine to cure coronavirus disease” and that US scientists who recently met the Speaker and President Yoweri Museveni, misled them.
She said that Prof. Safraz K. Niaz, a brainchild of the “Obamacare” has teamed up with a Ugandan biochemist, Mathias Magoola, to produce the product at DEI Group, in Luzira, Kampala to instantly kill the coronavirus. She also blasted Ugandan doctors under their Association and demanded for an apology insisting that Prof. Safraz and the Ugandan scientist Mathias Magoola are not quacks.
“Yesterday, I informed Members that some work was going on by some Ugandans to develop medicine in the country but I would have thought if the doctors of the Uganda Medical Association had brains, they would have first come to me and say we heard you talk about this, can you tell us what it is, but they went and issued press statements,” Kadaga said while chairing the House on Tuesday.
“There is no vaccine at the moment nor effective treatment therefore, cleaning and disinfectants of surfaces daily is the basic practice for prevention and containment of the virus. But the present disinfectant are alcohol based, and are only effective on bacteria but not the virus, consequently, the Professor developed an effective hand sanitizer that is capable of killing the coronavirus instantly. The trial is starting in USA today,” Kadaga insisted, adding that Prof Safraz is the world’s most prolific sole investor of patents with more than 100 patents, pharmaceuticals in various places and that he is the one who set up the Obamacare.
“I don’t deal with quacks and I don’t know if any scientist in Uganda has developed that [innovation]. I hope that these three doctors [from Uganda Medical Association] will apologize to me; they should have had courtesy to check with me instead of issuing something like this [statements],” she said.
The doctors who addressed the media are; Richard Idro, the president of UMA, Muhereza Mukuzi, General Secretary, UMA and Misaki Wanyengera, senior scientist and lecturer, Makerere University.
During the Tuesday plenary, MPs joined the Speaker to applaud the local scientists who have joined hands with Prof Safraz to produce the disinfectant and urged Ugandans to promote local content by supporting any local innovations.
“What is wrong with Uganda pioneering that innovation? Everyone in the world is struggling to find the vaccine. Is there any harm for Uganda to find the vaccine? Instead of condemning the people we should instead be applauding innovation. Let us give them time and in the meantime we support them either financially or through any other support they may require,” Muhammad Nsereko, (Kampala Central MP) said.
Kadaga has also announced an immediate travel ban for all MPs to East Africa and other countries until further notice.
President Yoweri Museveni is on Wednesday (tomorrow) expected to address the nation on the coronavirus pandemic.
