by Linda Straker Press Secretary Neila Ettienne has confirmed that Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell is not among leaders attending the Biashara Afrika Forum in Kigali, because of an outbreak of the Marburg Virus Disease in Rwanda. In his keynote address of the forum, Rwanda’s President Paul Kegame expressed appreciation to those who were in attendance. “It takes some amount of courage to proceed from wherever you were because of the virus that has been going around,” he said.
On Monday, 7 October a press release on Prime Minister Mitchell’s Facebook page informed the nation that he had left Grenada for Rwanda, and in his absence, Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall will be the Acting Prime Minister. When contacted via WhatsApp message, Ettienne confirmed that the Prime Minister did not arrive at the forum because of “unforeseen circumstances.” When asked if his decision to not attend the forum was because of the virus as mentioned by President Kegame, the Press Secretary responded in the affirmative.
“Yes, his decision to not attend was based on the virus,” she responded without naming the port of disembarkation or embarkation he was located when the decision was made to cancel the trip. As of Wednesday, 9 October, the Prime Minister and his entourage are officially not back in Grenada and it was not clear which territory or jurisdiction they were located awaiting a flight to return them to Grenada. Rwanda, according to that country’s health ministry, is battling.