KAMPALA – Officials from Makerere University and the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, held a meeting in a bid to iron out their differences following a fallout over false Covid-19 results.
Sections of the media have over the last week reported that officials from the two institutions were not seeing Eye to eye after President Museveni noted that the COVID-19 testing lab at Makerere University had released wrong information in relation to the number of positive cases.
And on Wednesday, the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister, Gen Moses Ali, met the officials from the two institutions in a bid to end the standoff.
Present in the meeting that took place at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala were Dr Jane Ruth Acheng, the Health Minister, Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, Members of the National COVID-19 taskforce and a representative from the World Health Organisation, among others.
Sources that attended the meeting told this website that Gen Ali told the two parties that the President was angered by the clashes between them and ordered them to focus on the fight against the pandemic.
Sources added that Dr Aceng said her ministry had no conflict with the university, noting that the two parties have been research data. She instead said that the reported conflict was being promoted by some individuals outside the ministry with personal interests.
On his part, Prof Nawangwe said that the only issue between the two parties was about the false COVID-19 results, which has since been cleared.
Dr Diana Atwine, the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, said the clash between Makerere and the ministry among others is instigated by people with a personal vendetta.
