Rupturing the Veneer of Sanity, Testing the Nation’s Conscience: A Narrative of Striking COVID-19 Social Stigma in the Emergence of the Pandemic in Uganda

Abstract

The COVID-19 social stigma in Uganda which was overtly manifested in a number of ways revealed that the true image of a collective Ugandan ethic of care during a pandemic was still a work in progress. In this essay the discussion is concentrated on some of the striking cases of COVID-19 social stigma which some people experienced in Uganda from some of the following categories: Suspects of having symptoms similar to COVID-19; persons known to have travelled from abroad at that time; suspects of having been in contact with plausible COVID-19 victims; and, some of the persons who had recovered from COVID-19 and discharged to their homes, to their families, and to their communities. The discussion weaves together some concrete examples of the existential stigmatization especially during the measures to promote quarantine, isolation, and social and physical distancing in Uganda. This is an analysis of the underlying, visceral nature of where the anger that wounded but also tested the conscience of the nation during the mitigation of the spread of COVID-19 in the country was directed. Arguably, this social stigma developed from a systemic moral problem in the ethic of care in the nation’s conscience to deal with the pandemic. In a broader perspective, from those particularly Ugandan cases there are lessons to be learned which may not be limited to Uganda but would inform wider conversations about stigma and infectious diseases.