Tororo officials demand probe into missing yellow fever cards
Members of the Tororo District Coordination Taskforce for the Yellow Fever vaccination campaign during a planning meeting on April 17, 2025. PHOTO/JOSEPH OMOLLO
What you need to know:
- Acting Tororo District Health Officer Sr. Connie Bwire denied any intentional misconduct but promised a parallel probe.
Authorities in Tororo District have called for an investigation into missing yellow fever vaccination cards amid allegations that health workers withheld the documents during a mass vaccination campaign.
Noah Okumu, the district secretary for health and education, issued the directive during a coordination meeting held at the district chambers on Thursday. He said the probe should determine why vaccinated individuals, particularly students, were not issued cards.
“There’s no justification for giving vaccines without cards,” Okumu said. “This is not a witch hunt, but the greatest sabotage in the government’s effort to defeat the pandemic.”
Okumu cited a case at Tororo Academy in Bison village, where students were vaccinated but none received vaccination cards, despite earlier assurances from health officials that vaccines and cards were matched.
He alleged that some health workers may have withheld the cards to sell them, especially given their high demand among travelers.
The assistant Resident District Commissioner for West Budama North, Aidha Kigen, echoed the concerns and said her office had gathered intelligence suggesting that cards were deliberately retained.
“Some of those vaccinated were told the cards had run out and would be issued later,” Kigen said.
“We already have intelligence that some health workers kept the cards. We shall make them explain why,” she added.
Kigen urged affected residents to report to the RDC’s office to aid ongoing investigations.
However, acting Tororo District Health Officer Sr. Connie Bwire denied any intentional misconduct. She confirmed that the district received enough vaccines and cards to cover 544,046 people, as planned.
“According to our records, the vaccine doses and vaccination cards tallied. There may have been logistical lapses at the packing centers that led to distribution mismatches,” she said.
Bwire welcomed the concerns raised and said her office would conduct a parallel probe and task those involved to explain the discrepancies.
“Thank you for the highlight. My office is also going to investigate. However, I appreciate all leaders for the mobilization efforts that helped us score high,” she said.
She noted that by the third day of the campaign, the district had already achieved 92% coverage. A mop-up exercise was conducted to reach remaining communities.
Bwire added that some local resistance, particularly among men in Mella Sub-county, had slightly hindered progress. “Some men feared the vaccine would affect their manhood,” she said.
