Arua district health officer (DHO) Paul Bishop Drileba has come under the spotlight for allegedly issuing false coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test results ahead of President Yoweri Museveni's visit to the area last week.
Museveni was in Arua, part of a five-day journey, in which he unveiled major projects in Acholi and West Nile sub-regions including the ground-breaking ceremony for the 132KV transmission line, commissioning of the Arua value-addition factory and the commissioning of an 8MW thermal power plant by Electro-Maxx.
All invited attendees were required to take COVID-19 tests and only those with negative results were allowed to attend the events by the president's security team.
When the results were released, Drileba announced that up to 65 people from the group had tested positive for COVID-19. Among those declared coronavirus positive were Arua deputy resident district commissioner (RDC) Alice Akello, the NRM parliamentary candidate for Arua Central Jackson Buti Atima, Ayivu County MP Bernard Atiku, Maureen Osoru, the Woman MP for Arua and Sam Nyakua, the district chairman, among others.
Osoru and Nyakua have since gone into self-isolation but have demanded fresh test results and an investigation by the ministry of Health, accusing the DHO Drileba of manipulating the COVID-19 test results under the influence of some area politicians.
Akello told URN that Drileba informed her through a phone call that she had tested positive for COVID-19 but declined to give her further guidance on next steps after the positive test. She said that she became suspicious and, with guidance from the director of Arua hospital, she took another test from Adjumani Laboratory which posted negative results.
Meanwhile, Atima, the NRM parliamentary candidate for Arua central division said he decided to go for another test two days after, and the results turned out to be negative. Atima says he is now consulting with his legal team and the political task force on the next course of action.
"I came, I found the DHO printing COVID results giving it to individual people and all the people who came in my presence including my wife, their results were negative. When he gave me my result which was positive, he didn't counsel me, he didn't give me the next course of action to take, I didn't know what next to do - whether to go home or whether to go to which place or to go for which medication." Atima said.
"I was suspicious of why my results would be positive because I just did a test from Mulago hospital and before I went to Kampala, I did a test in Arua here where all my results were negative. I went to the lab at Arua regional referral hospital, my sample was drawn and taken to Adjumani. Then on 25th, I got a call from Adjumani that the test results have come out, I am negative. I picked it, went and presented to the SFC and attended Mzee's function in the morning. So politically I have been fought, it might be defamation, it might be propaganda," Atima added.
Similarly, MP Bernard Atiku said that he took another test at Mulago and MBN clinical laboratory in Kampala which returned negative results. Atiku who is also, a member of the national COVID-19 task force says he has forwarded the matter to the national health subcommittee for further inquiries.
"I was communicated to the results as having been positive that is as per the DHO Mr. Drileba Bishop. So I expected to be given the official results which up to now has not been given to me. Of course, he told me to isolate myself which I did. While in isolation for the first two days, I made phone calls to Bishop to ask him to send his technical team here, he promised to do that the first day they never came, the second day, they never came up to now. I decided to travel to Kampala, I went to Mulago, I did a test there which test came out negative. I went to MBN and did another test, it also came out negative and it is from that point that I confirmed that there must be other motives. They are supposed first of all hand over the certificate to me before declaring my results. That did not happen, it was on phone. And when I drove to the DHO that is where it ended by word of mouth," Atiku said.
"I was communicated to the results as having been positive that is as per the DHO Mr. Drileba Bishop. So I expected to be given the official results which up to now has not been given to me. Of course, he told me to isolate myself which I did. While in isolation for the first two days, I made phone calls to Bishop to ask him to send his technical team here, he promised to do that the first day they never came, the second day, they never came up to now. I decided to travel to Kampala, I went to Mulago, I did a test there which test came out negative. I went to MBN and did another test, it also came out negative and it is from that point that I confirmed that there must be other motives. They are supposed first of all hand over the certificate to me before declaring my results. That did not happen, it was on phone. And when I drove to the DHO that is where it ended by word of mouth," Atiku said.
Drileba said that two cited cases of Atima and Atika are under investigation but the other cases are baseless because the positive cases are supposed to manage themselves in their homes.
Although the results showed that 65 positive cases, there has not been any tracing of primary and secondary contacts by the task force, creating more worry among the populace in Arua and West Nile. Drileba said his team is limited by both financial and human resource shortages to do any contact tracing.
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