By Keeefa Nuwahereza
The Uganda police on Wednesday arrested several Ugandans who were watching premier league matches at various city hangouts over allegations of flouting Presidential directives on social distancing, as one ways to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
According to the police, many of the suspects were arrested from bars, video shacks and restaurants as they watched premier league matches with so sense or practice of social distancing at all, yet this risks their lives and those of their loved ones by exposing them to higher chances of being infected with COVID-19.
Commenting about the operation, Kampala Metropolitan Spokesperson Patrick Onyango said that; “Last night we arrested 32 suspects for violating Presidential directives and Ministry of Health guidelines of social distancing and curfew. The 32 suspects were arrested while watching Premier league match i.e Arsenal vs Liverpool at Katanga in Wandegeya, Kampala.”
However, Onyango did not divulge further details about those that had been arrested or their charges that the police would prefer against them.
It should be noted that as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health issued directives to the effect that all Ugandans should maintain a social distance of at least two meters when in public places and to always wear face masks.
However, according to the police, many of the suspects were found in very close proximity with each other and none of them had a face mask, something that puts their lives at risk.