Green cottage clinic in Mukono municipality is under the spotlight for issuing fake COVID-19 test certificates especially to people travelling abroad. Much as the clinic isn’t among those accredited to conduct COVID-19 tests, it issues PCR test results.
Trouble for Green cottage clinic started when they issued a COVID-19 negative certificate to Esther Nambowa, 28, a resident of Kikooza in Mukono Municipality on September 23, 2021, for her travel to Dubai for work on September 24. She was blocked at the airport because of presenting an invalid COVID-19 test certificate.
Travellers going through Entebbe International Airport are required to present a negative PCR COVID-19 test certificate issued by a certified laboratory by the Ministry of Health within 48 hours before departure time. They are also required to carry out a rapid PCR test at the airport 6hours before departure.
Nambowa says that although the rapid tests done at Safari lab 6 hours before departure tested negative, her flight was cancelled because of the fake certificate. She is currently looking for Shillings 1 million to book another flight and conduct fresh tests.
Brian Ssebunya, the lab manager at Green cottage clinic insists that their results are genuine but they are not meant for travellers. He blames people especially those intending to travel for lacking information on, which laboratories to use.
Despite Ssebunya’s claims, the test certificate issued by Green cottage clinic shows that the tests are meant for travellers. URN has also learnt that Ssebunya refunded Shillings 70, 000 they obtained from Nambowa for COVID-19 testing after raising complaints.
In their WhatsApp conversation, Ssebunya informed Nambowa that there were just delays in uploading her results into the Health Ministry COVID-19 results portal. Mukono District Health Officer, Stephen Mulindwa, says that Green cottage clinic is not one of the facilities accredited to handle COVID-19 related issues or conduct tests.
He advises residents to always visit nearby government health facilities for free consultations about health matters.
-URN
They should be charged for issuing false COVID-19 certificates.