Tanzania’s Health ministry has suspended top directors of the National Health Laboratory, Dr. Nyambura Moremi and Jacob Lusekelo in wake of statements by President John Pombe Magufuli.
Dr. Moremi serves as the director of the national laboratory while Lusekelo is the quality assurance manager.
On Sunday, May 3, President Magufuli ordered an investigation into kits used to test Covid-19 results, claiming even pawpaw and goat samples sent to the lab unbeknownst to the officials had tested positive for coronavirus.
Magufuli said the findings revealed that something was amiss at the national laboratory, accusing the officials of releasing too many positive Covid-19 results.
As of the last update issued by Tanzania, a total of 480 people have tested positive for Covid-19.
Tanzania’s Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu also appointed a 10-man special committee headed by Prof Eligius Lyamuya to investigate the collection and testing of Covid-19 samples.
During his speech on Sunday, President Magufuli claimed there is a likelihood that the testing kits are faulty or some unidentified officials are out to sabotage Tanzania’s economy with false results.
The new teams is scheduled to present its findings within 10 days.
Dr. Moremi’s background
According to her LinkedIn profile, Dr. Moremi holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology-Bacteriology from the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences (Tanzania) & Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg in Germany.
She obtained her medical degree from Weill Bugando University in Mwanza, Tanzania.
From her profile, she has been the director of the National Laboratory for nearly two years.
