Ugandans would face fines, jail for refusing Covid-19 jab under new law

Published
0

Uganda plans to impose fines on people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who fail to pay could be sent to prison under a new public health law which lawmakers are scrutinising, parliament said.

Although the East African country started administering Covid-19 jabs nearly a year ago, only about 16 million jabs have been administered in a population of 45 million, with officials blaming widespread reluctance for the low coverage.

Parliament's house health committee has begun scrutinising the Public Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 which seeks to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory. The new law proposes a fine of four million Ugandan shillings ($1,139) for those who fail to get vaccinated, Reuters reports.

Students register and have their temperatures taken at Bukere Secondary School, after schools reopened following the Covid-19 induced shutdown in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, in Kyegegwa District, Uganda on January 11. — Reuters
Students register and have their temperatures taken at Bukere Secondary School, after schools reopened following the Covid-19 induced shutdown in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, in Kyegegwa District, Uganda on January 11. — Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Risks ahead
02 Oct, 2026

Risks ahead

ON Thursday, a day after the PTI leadership expressed its resolve to go ahead with its planned protest march this...
Exit from Iraq
02 Oct, 2026

Exit from Iraq

AMERICAN and British troops have once again shipped out of Iraq. On Wednesday, the foreign forces left the Arab...
Lahore’s ozone warning
02 Oct, 2026

Lahore’s ozone warning

LAHORE has received another warning that its air pollution crisis cannot be treated as a problem that begins with...
Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...