Latest news with #EliasBiryabarema
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Uganda declares end to latest ebola outbreak
By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) -Uganda on Saturday declared an end to the country's latest outbreak of ebola, three months after authorities confirmed cases of the highly infectious and often fatal viral hemorrhagic infection in the capital Kampala. The East African country announced its latest outbreak on January 30 after the death of a male nurse who tested positive for the virus. "Good news! The current ebola Sudan Virus Disease outbreak has officially come to an end," the health ministry said in a post on the X platform. It added the declaration of the end of the outbreak followed 42 days "without a new case since the last confirmed patient was discharged." In the post, the ministry did not give the latest total caseload recorded during the outbreak. In early March when the ministry last reported on the caseload, it said at least ten cases had been recorded with two deaths. Ebola infections are frequent in Uganda which has many tropical forests that are natural reservoirs for the virus. The latest outbreak, caused by the Sudan strain of the virus which has no approved vaccine, was Uganda's ninth since the country recorded its first infection in 2000. Uganda also neighbours the Democratic Republic of Congo which has recorded over a dozen outbreaks, including one in 2018-2020 that killed nearly 2,300 people. The outbreak started in Kampala, a crowded city of about four million that is also a crossroads for routes branching out to eastern Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. Although outbreaks have been common, health experts say the country has been able to leverage on its experience battling the disease over the years to bring them under control relatively quickly. Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting of blood, muscle pains and bleeding.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Uganda plans law to allow military prosecution of civilians
By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Ugandan government intends to introduce a law to allow military tribunals to try civilians for certain offences even after the practice was banned by the Supreme Court. Human rights activists and opposition politicians have long accused President Yoweri Museveni's government of using military courts to prosecute opposition leaders and supporters on politically motivated charges. The government denies the accusations. In January Uganda's Supreme Court delivered a ruling that banned military prosecutions of civilians, which forced the government to transfer the trial of opposition politician and former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye to civilian courts. If successfully enacted, the new law could allow the government to take Besigye back to a military court martial. The law has been drafted and is awaiting cabinet approval before it is introduced in parliament, Nobert Mao, the minister for justice and constitutional affairs, told parliament late on Thursday. The law will define "exceptional circumstances under which a civilian may be subject to military law", he said. Besigye, a veteran political rival of Museveni, has been in detention for nearly five months on what his lawyers say are politically motivated charges. He was detained in neighbouring Kenya in November and subsequently transferred to Uganda, where he was charged in a military court-martial with illegal possession of firearms among other offences.
Reuters
18-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ugandan shilling flat, importer dollar demand muted
KAMPALA, March 18 (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling was flat on Tuesday on the back of subdued importer demand for dollars, traders said. At 0837 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,660/3,670, the same level as Monday's close. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa
Reuters
02-03-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Uganda reports second Ebola death, WHO says
KAMPALA, March 2 (Reuters) - A second Ebola patient, a four-year-old child, has died in Uganda, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which cited the country's health ministry. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by William Mallard
