Ugandan police hunt phoney doctor and arrest nurses in Covid vaccine scam
‘This was a clear scam, this fellow was looking for money, just a common criminal... We suspect he was injecting people with water because it’s colourless, odourless and not dangerous’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Police in Uganda have arrested two nurses and were hunting for a man who had posed as a doctor to sell and administer fake coronavirus vaccines to hundreds of people, authorities in the East African nation said on Thursday, amid a rising second wave of infections.
The phoney doctor had persuaded several companies to pay for their employees to receive vaccines, charging between 100,000- 200,000 Ugandan shillings (£20-£41) per shot, according to the head of a public health monitoring unit within the president’s office.
“This was a clear scam, this fellow was looking for money, just a common criminal... We suspect he was injecting people with water because it’s colourless, odourless and not dangerous,” Dr Warren Naamara told Reuters.
“He is still on the run but we’re hunting for him. We have arrested two nurses whom he was employing.”
Documents seized in a raid of the premises used by the suspects showed at least 812 people had been vaccinated but Dr Naamara said the number of victims could be more.
During a raid on the premises used by the suspects, investigators found vials whose seals had been tampered with, and had bogus vaccine labelling and false shipping information, Dr Naamara said.
Coronavirus infections and fatalities have soared in Uganda since late May, as the highly-infectious Delta variant fuelled a second wave of infections.
A vaccination campaign, begun in March, has been hampered by insufficient deliveries of shots from the vaccine-sharing facility COVAX, that was set up to supply low income countries.
As a result, Ugandans have at times been forced to queue in long lines, some times for a whole day, hoping to be vaccinated.
Reuters
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments