Lockdowns Leave Dozens of Ugandan Children Stranded Overseas after Choir Tour

The Ugandan government has launched an investigation into the activities of a megachurch in Kampala after seven members of its internationally renowned children’s choir were diagnosed with Covid-19 following an overseas tour. The country’s child affairs minister, Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, told the Guardian that the Internal Security Organisation was investigating Watoto church for allegedly breaching child labour laws, taking the children out of the country without permission and putting them at risk by not cancelling the tour as coronavirus cases escalated and countries closed their borders. The church has not responded to the Guardian’s requests for comment on the allegations. The children, aged between seven and 10, were diagnosed shortly after returning from a UK tour on 20 March. They, along with seven adults on the tour who also tested positive for the virus, have all now fully recovered, the church said. However, more than 80 members of the choir, including 48 children, reportedly remain stranded in the US, Malaysia, New Zealand and Brazil as they were unable to travel back to Uganda before the country closed its borders on the 23 March.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN