Six arrested in Sheema over counterfeit veterinary drugs

Sheema, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Drug Authority-NDA has arrested six people in an operation on counterfeit veterinary drug dealers around the Ankole sub-region. The operation was conducted in the districts of Mbarara and Sheema.

The six arrested have been identified as Wilson Kafeero, a retired veterinary officer and former district veterinary officer Buhweju district and his wife Olive Kafeero, Denis Kakuru an accountant in one of the pharmacies in Mbarara, Eridadi Tumwebaze, a boda boda cyclist and resident of Lubiri cell Mbarara, Bernard Nuwahereza a manager at a diary in Sheema, and Godfrey Tumwebaze.

The head of veterinary services NDA, Jeanne Muhindo says that the operation follows complaints from veterinary field extension workers and farmers in Bushenyi and Sheema districts.

Muhindo says the culprits have been duplicating pesticides for spraying bedbugs, cockroaches and other insects and re-package them as acaricides for spraying animals, which they rebrand as Tick burn.

The suspects were found in possession of 1,000 litres of counterfeit tick burn and tick burn spray stickers.

Mbarara District Veterinary Officer Dr Andrew Akashaba says that they have embarked on a process to register all veterinary doctors with the help from the National Veterinary council to weed out the unscrupulous vet doctors.

Esther Biyizika, a veterinary doctor accused farmers of ignoring licensed vet shops and using the services of unscrupulous people.

The operation comes at a time when the region is faced with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease.

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