The ministry of health has urged Ugandans to disregard claims by Shanita Namuyimbwa aka Bad Black that she s owed monies.
Bad Black has contacted a law firm sue claiming the ministry owes her money because of the advert to raise awareness for COVID-19 among sex workers.
However, the ministry says Black’s claims are baseless as no promise was made to her by government and that participating in the campaign was a patriotic duty.
“The public is further encouraged to disregard misinformation and allegations against the Government of Uganda in regard to services that are being provided during this period. The Ministry continues to avail itself to anyone including Bad Black for any service, or consultation regarding provision of Health Services in the country. The messages sent out by Bad Black tantamount to blackmail since no contractual obligations were made between herself and government,” the statement says.
The statement issued on Sunday also provides details of the arrangement that saw Black record a message appealing to prostitutes to stay away from truck drivers in order not to catch coronavirus.
According to the details, Precision Communications Consulting Limited, a media firm, offered to get the voices of prominent Ugandans to raise awareness about the coronavirus, The Nnabagereka of Buganda, Robert Kabushenga, and others are some of the names that chose to participate.
Because of the dangers paused to prostitutes by truck drivers who have been the epicenter of COVID-19 cases, Bad Black was approached by the same media company not the health ministry, to record her message.
“Bad Black, in particular consented to record a message that was appealing to her
colleagues who were at risk of contracting COVID-19, and would thus spread it to
other members of the community,” the statement says.
The health ministry only offered to pay for airtime on TV, radio and online platforms where the ad was played.
It is therefore wrong for Black to claim the health ministry promised her any money.
BELOW IS THE FULL HEALTH MINISTRY STATEMENT
Attention has been drawn to various posts and videos currently
circulating on social media where Ms. Shanita Namuyimbwa alias Bad Black ‘intends to sue the Ministry of Health and its Partners UNICEF and WHO.’
The Ministry of Health would like to clarify as follows:
• Following the call by H.E the President to the general public to donate or provide free services towards the prevention of COVID-19, a number of companies came out to
support the Ministry of Health with some offering a number of items while others
supporting in terms of the services they offer.
• It is therefore against this background that Precision Communications Consulting Limited came out and donated Media Production services to the Ministry of Health under close supervision of the Ministry of Health. All content and messaging was
cleared by the Ministry of Health
• Additionally, Precision Communications Consulting Limited approached various key personalities who voluntarily recorded messages as a way of giving back to their
country in this COVID-19 fight, among whom was Bad Black. All these individuals were requested to voluntarily participate, and they consented before any recording was
made.
• Bad Black, in particular consented to record a message that was appealing to her
colleagues who were at risk of contracting COVID-19, and would thus spread it to
other members of the community.
• Indeed, the Ministry of Health appreciates all entities and personalities who offered their valuable time and services voluntarily to support risk communication to various target audiences for purposes of preventing the spread of COVID-19
• The Ministry would like to reiterate that this was done on solely voluntary terms and no contractual or financial obligations were attached to any of the personalities including Bad Black.
• The Government of Uganda only paid for airtime on radio, television stations and digital platforms to enable regular airing of messages which Precision
Communications Consulting Limited and other media ag
As the pandemic evolves, the Ministry of Health changes messaging and content to inform the population accordingly. As such, Bad Black’s message has since stopped airing on the various channels of media effective 10th June 2020.
• The Ministry of Health is now focusing on messaging on effective use of face masks
and the complacency exhibited by sections of the public.
• The Ministry would like to reiterate that all key personalities including Bad Black have no contractual or financial obligations with the Government of Uganda.
The public is further encouraged to disregard misinformation and allegations against the Government of Uganda in regard to services that are being provided during this period. The Ministry continues to avail itself to anyone including Bad Black for any service, or consultation regarding provision of Health Services in the country. The messages sent out by Bad Black tantamount to blackmail since no contractual obligations were made between herself and government.
In its routine work and particularly during epidemic response, the Ministry of Health represents transparency, accountability and integrity. Allegations from individuals with malicious intentions should not derail health workers and partners from the relentless work and should ensure that we win the war against COVID-19. This should not erode the goodwill of the public who continue to lend a hand in this fight.
As the Ministry of Health, we promise to provide facts, be open and honest in our
communication and remain committed to the communities we are serving
