MBABANE – Funduzi Director Zakhele Dlamini has dropped explosive revelations surrounding the controversial procurement of Remdesivir, saying the drug sold by Avapharm to government for E9million during the height of COVID-19 was still under trial and explicitly marked as “Not to be used in the US, Canada and EU.”
According to Dlamini, Funduzi’s report stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) donated Remdesivir to Eswatini, yet Avapharm sold it to the government. He said individuals trying to discredit him have clung to this error “like their lives depend on it,” but insisted the deeper story behind the drug is far more disturbing and multilayered.
Dlamini said the drug was procured via WhatsApp, which is not an official government procurement channel. Although officials later explained this in Parliament, he said the real issue is how an unapproved drug still under trial ended up being procured to be administered to emaSwati.
He said the drug’s packaging carried clear warnings barring its use in the United States, Canada and the European Union. This, he said, triggered him to investigate further.
Dlamini said he decided to send an email to the manufacturer, which is an Indian pharmaceutical company using his personal email, posing as a sector professional seeking information about Remdesivir. He did not disclose that he was conducting an investigation. However, he was shocked when the manufacturer responded and in the response they copied Avapharm, even though he had never mentioned the supplier nor his probe. The reply simply instructed him to “check the website.”
When he checked the website, he said the markings on the displayed drug differed from those on the batch supplied to Eswatini. The online version was fully approved, yet the batch sent to Eswatini was clearly labelled as still undergoing trials. He said drug markings speak volumes, and this discrepancy raised red flags.
He then travelled to the United States to verify the drug status and why it was marked “not to be used in the US, Canada and the EU. There, an American pharmaceutical company told him that the approved version of Remdesivir was available and it is being distributed globally but this version of Remdesivir was barred from US use because it had never been approved and could not legally be administered to Americans because it was still under trial.
Dlamini then proceeded to Namibia, where AvaPharm said it sourced the drug from through a sister company. He said when he approached the Namibian Auditor General’s office and explained his mission, the AG left him in the office and never returned without an explanation. He went back the following day, but the AG was still nowhere to be found. He said he even called the local office to communicate with the Namibia AGs office via their laid down diplomatic channels but that also hit a snag. He said that is when it really dawned on him that he was dealing with a well-connected cartel.
After failing to meet the Namibian AG for two days he said he then visited the sister company which they claimed to have sourced the Remdisivir from. He said after introducing himself to the security guard at the gate he was immediately told to leave and that he “had no business being on the premises.”
Dlamini also responded to claims that WHO never donated Remdesivir to Eswatini. He said critics use this line to accuse him of lying, yet the same WHO statement they rely on states clearly in paragraph 4 that WHO could never have donated a drug that was not approved and still under trial.
He urged emaSwati to wake up and question what medication is being administered to them in local hospitals, warning that unapproved and trial-stage drugs were delivered and given to unsuspecting patients.
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