Early January, Novak Djokovic’s involvement in the 2022 Australian Open hang in the balance when he met a major roadblock with the Australia immigration authorities. The world’s top tennis player then had his visa revoked only a day before the tournament, of which his participation would’ve arguably guaranteed a record 21st Grand Slam.
The Serbian’s troubles arose from his failure, perhaps refusal, to take the Covid-19 vaccine. The situation soon escalated and sparked global controversy after it was finally ruled in the star’s disfavor that he wouldn’t be granted entry into the country on health grounds, thus his eventual exclusion from the tournament.
This prominent case highlighted a broader quandary world over: the hustle and tussle between governments and populaces concerning the implementation of vaccination mandates.
In Uganda, a health legislation is being drafted which, if passed into law, should have every unvaccinated citizen face up to six months’ jail term. Outrageous as that is, it’s only fair to collocate this with the stockpile of low shelf-life covid vaccine doses lying idle at the Health Ministry stores! The government is undoubtedly under pressure from donors and global health bodies to deliver on expectations of putting medical donations to use before their expiration.
Fortunately or unfortunately—depending on which side you stand—previous attempts to get the population inoculated back in 2021, as a prerequisite for the full reopening of the country, moved at a horribly slow pace.
According to the Ministry of Health, one of the causes of the sluggishness was the limited vaccination points and accessibility, particularly in the countryside. However, the chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee on covid-19 at the Ministry, Dr. Misaki Wayengera, seemed to give a more accurate assessment of the situation: that the reason for the dismal success of the exercise was—still is—due to its voluntary nature. In hindsight, this should explain the need for a more radical approach. A law!
The evolution and mutation of the corona virus since its emergence in early 2020; followed by the rigidity of the measures to arrest its rapid spread, left a gory scar on the population, without a doubt. Ugandans are yet to fully recover from covid fatigue, having been worn out by every grueling experience that the pandemic and the authorities tossed at them for close to two years.
Retrospectively, it’s not difficult to see why many would rather pass up on anything that evokes memories of that rough period, not least, enrollment for the covid jabs. Moreover, it doesn’t exactly inspire reassurance knowing that even after a dizzying array of jabs and booster shots, there’s still no guarantee that one wouldn’t catch the virus or die from it!
But more importantly, as an aspect of the right to health, if the element of informed consent is scraped off—which’s what the proposed law will do—then the government will effectively be in charge of every Ugandan’s physical body. The sour twist, though, is that while they would want to have control of our bodies, it’s the citizens that will bear the full brunt of liability should any side effects arise from the coerced vaccinations.
In terms of global corona fatalities, Uganda ranks nowhere near the top hundred countries that have been most hit thus far by the pandemic. Yet, ironically, here we are acting more bereaved than countries like the United States, Brazil or even Italy that have recorded deaths in the hundreds of thousands.
The haphazardness and ferocity of this pitifuland lousy proposed policy appears unique to Uganda, and is such a vivid portrayal of a government that has no qualms overstepping its bounds. This expression of tyranny and consistent pushing of the envelop of absolutism may unquestionably be met with plenty of pushback from the population.
This article has also appeared in The Daily Monitor: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/public-health-amendment-bill-absolutism-may-be-resisted-3732348
