Ebola fears have forced Uganda to block Congolese music star Koffi Olomide from entering the country for a concert in Gulu City, with health authorities warning that the event could draw thousands of fans across the border from high-risk areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Olomide, his band and entourage were due to perform at Northern Pearl Hotel in Gulu on Friday, October 9, as part of Uganda’s 64th Independence Day celebrations. The concert has now been postponed following an October 7 advisory by the Ministry of Health, which cited the risk of importing Ebola through the expected cross-border movement of fans.
Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi, in a circular to the Chief Executive Officer of Opolacen Limited, trading as OpenMic, said the decision was not a ban on public gatherings but a precaution targeting events likely to attract substantial cross-border movement.
“Whereas the Ministry has not imposed a general prohibition on public gatherings, the ongoing Ebola situation in the general areas of Ariwara, Aru and several other provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo requires heightened vigilance in relation to large events likely to generate substantial cross-border movement,” Baryomunsi said.
The minister pointed to a recent incident in which a person confirmed to have Ebola travelled through Uganda to Kenya after bypassing surveillance and control measures along formal movement corridors. Baryomunsi said the incident exposed the difficulty of tracking people who enter or transit through Uganda outside established surveillance systems.
He warned that the Gulu concert could present a similar challenge because of Olomide’s popularity on both sides of the Uganda-DRC border. “Koffi Olomide has a very big fan base both in Uganda and DRC, likely to attract many people from DRC, causing a high risk of Ebola infection,” he said.
The organisers subsequently announced the postponement, saying they had accepted the government’s public health advice. “We fully respect and support the government of Uganda’s public health measures and appreciate the need to protect the health and safety of Ugandans, visitors and the wider community,” the organisers said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The new concert date has not yet been announced. The organisers said all tickets already purchased would remain valid for the rescheduled show. “The Koffi Live in Gulu City Concert will be rescheduled to a new date once the government of Uganda lifts the applicable travel advisory and Koffi Olomide and his team are cleared to travel to Uganda,” the statement said.
The concert was expected to attract about 3,000 revelers from Gulu, other parts of Uganda and neighbouring countries, increasing concerns about uncontrolled cross-border movement. The decision comes as Uganda remains on heightened alert following an Ebola outbreak in the region. Uganda recently battled its own Ebola outbreak, recording 20 cases and two deaths before being declared Ebola-free in August.
The country has since maintained heightened surveillance at its borders, particularly along its frontier with the DRC, where movement between the two countries is frequent. Health authorities are concerned that large gatherings involving people from affected or high-risk areas could undermine efforts to detect and contain imported cases-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
