The Coronavirus has made a difference to all our lives and this disease has meant that the populations of all the affected countries have to adhere to strict quarantine rules.   In most cases this is completely reasonable and for the most part people comply because they understand the seriousness of the situation,    However, in Uganda the application of these laws has led to the death of individuals by the security forces and men and women are scared to get their basic food needs for fear of being caned by soldiers who treat them unmercifully.    It has meant in practice that people have had to go to bed without food and if this situation is allowed to continue, there will be starvation not just because of the escalating food prices but because of the actions of the LDC (the Local Defence Unit).

The laws were invoked to protect the Ugandan population but  these soldiers have completely disregarded the laws themselves by manhandling people and using mob violence which in turn can escalate the spread of the disease.   It appears they love inflicting violence rather than protecting Ugandans from this disease.

President Museveni has the power to stop this violence and we would appeal to him to do so.   Inflicting violence on the scale seen is detrimental to Uganda’s reputation and it will have long term effects on the economy of the country long after the virus is over as tourists the world over will be reluctant to visit Uganda when they know what is happening now.