By Zainab Ali
Pastor Augustine YIga of Revival Church Kawaala has been uttering false information by claiming there is no COVID-19-coronavirus pandemic in Uganda as claimed by the government has been denied bail and remanded to kitalya prisons and will appear in court on the 2nd of April 2020.
While appearing before the grade one Magistrate Lumunye Timothy at Mwanga 2 court this afternoon the 43year old was charged with doing an act likely to spread inflection of disease contrary to section 171b of the penal code act.
Section 171b of the penal code act criminalizes negligence actions that are likely to spread infection of disease. The offense attracts seven years of imprisonment upon conviction.
The court was fully packed with his religious followers who quietly attended the court session cheering him on while chanting , bye Daddy as he was being lifted onto police pick up headed for prison.
While leaving the Pastor went on to pass his regards in a sarcastic way to a few people that include pastor Wilson Bugembe who has since criticized the pastor for his false utterances, People powers leader Bobi Wine and the President Yoweri Museveni.
Twine Charles the head of the Criminal Investigative Department-CID
On the 27th of March, while at Revival Church in Kawalya made reckless and criminal statements when he indicated that COVID-19 doesn’t exist, he expressed joy that the Judiciary remanded him for a week.
Twine says police is ready to adduce its evidence against the Pastor once the court convenes.
Yiga’s message was aired on his Television Station ABS TV to tell inform his audience in the public that COVID -19 doesn’t exist in Uganda or Africa as alleged by the state and in the news.
In a video that went viral on social media, the Pastor argues that coronavirus is just flu which was already existing on the continent.
He backed his argument by claiming no single death had been declared in a number of countries, yet in the west, nations that were battling the disease had lost lives in hundreds.
Upon his statements police picked him up and detained him at the Old Kampala Police Station where police questioned him about the motive of his utterances.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Patrick Onyango noted that Pastor Yiga’s utterance undermines government efforts in fighting the pandemic and exposes the public to dangers of laxity in observing the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health on its control and prevention.
