RESIDENTS STORM ELEGU BORDER HEALTH FACILITY, SEIZE BODY OF SUSPECTED EBOLA VICTIM

A screen grab shows a boda boda rider looking at unidentified men carrying the body of a man suspected of dying from Ebola disease at the Elegu border town in Amuru district at the Uganda South Sudan border.

URN

There was chaos at the Elegu Border Point on the Uganda-South Sudan border in Amuru District on Monday afternoon after residents stormed a health facility and forcibly retrieved the body of a 35-year-old man who died with Ebola like symptoms.

The deceased, identified as Fadil Miraci, reportedly died at around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday after presenting with symptoms consistent with Ebola, including fever and bleeding, according to local leaders.

Uganda Radio Network (URN) has established that Miraci, a well-known motor vehicle mechanic in Elegu Town Council, had sought treatment at Zam Zam Drug Shop in Loriko West Village before his condition deteriorated.

Reliable information indicates that after Miraci’s death, a nurse at the facility became concerned about his symptoms and alerted health officials and security personnel at the busy border post. The facility was subsequently cordoned off as authorities awaited laboratory results from samples collected from the deceased.

The body remained inside the facility, triggering fear and anxiety among residents, many of whom gathered around the premises demanding answers.

At about 1:00 p.m. on Monday, a group of angry residents stormed the health facility, overpowered security personnel, and carried away the body before the test results were released.

Patrick Louis Lamot, the Focal Person for Port Health at Elegu Border, confirmed the incident in an interview with Uganda Radio Network.

“We received a report from the community about a person who had died in a drug shop. Upon reaching the scene, the health team collected samples from the deceased, who had reportedly been bleeding before his death,” Lamot said.

He noted that health officials also collected samples from the clinic owner and a health worker who had attended to the deceased. Both later tested negative for Ebola at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) regional laboratory in Arua City.

“Port Health undertook sample collection, obtained the medical history from the clinic owner, sensitized members of the community gathered at the scene, and arranged for transportation of the samples to the laboratory for testing,” Lamot explained.

Kasim Akule, the LC I Chairperson of Loriko West Village, confirmed Miraci’s death but denied knowledge of the raid on the health facility.

Akule said he and other local leaders spent the night guarding the body after health workers allegedly abandoned the facility out of fear following the man’s death.

Amuru District Police Commander Alfred Baluku said security agencies would intensify community sensitization efforts following the incident to raise awareness about the dangers of handling bodies of suspected Ebola victims.

“We are going to engage the community and explain the risks associated with such actions. If the deceased had tested positive for Ebola, it would have created a very serious public health situation,” Baluku said.

The incident comes amid heightened vigilance at the busy border town following a resurgence of Ebola cases in the country and the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Uganda has so far recorded 10 confirmed Ebola cases and one death, with three of the cases reportedly linked to infections imported from the outbreak epicenter in the neighboring DRC.