Why Mulago Executive Director was charged?

On Tuesday, news of the arrest of Mulago National Referral Hospital E.D Dr. Byarugaba went viral on media platforms bringing the country’s Health sector to tension. On Wednesday the State House Health Monitoring Unit that arrested him informed the media in Kampala that the ED is to be charged with four offenses including embezzlement and causing financial loss to government.

Details of his suspension from office.
The unit director Dr. Warren Namara also informed the country that the ED also doubling as the Accounting Officer has been with the Health Monitoring Unit criminal investigations department since Tuesday responding to specific investigative issues which found out reports of false accounting of government funds and abuse of office.

In April last year, this Monitoring Unit conducted an investigative review on the National Referral Hospital in Mulago focusing on the human resources for health and finance plus also the essential medicines and health supplies for the period of the last four financial years.

In this report that was later shared with Mulago hospital to provide additional information, preliminary investigative findings found out that a total of 974,347,291 Ugx was misappropriated to for the period of two years (2019/2021) and also the accounting officer failed to notify the Accountant general about the missing vouchers that amounted to 5billion shillings as per the interviewed staff members of the facility.

The report also revealed that the Uganda government under fictitious and dubious payments for supply of services and consumables, lost UGX 20,537,264,362 being paid for duplicated activities and work completion certificates issued out by Mulago to MS Setramaco International limited and MS Convention World Limited for running the laundry machines, steam boilers the central sterile supply department among others.

Furthermore, this report also indicated suspicious procurement of medicines and other medical supplies which the investigative team conducted including the 1.5billion payments for medicines under emergency orders from First Pharmacy which delivery notes by the Pharmacy indicating deliveries to the said Burns Unit Store have since been denied by Kiruddu Hospital.

On illegal operations by private pharmacies with in the hospital, the report indicated that the Hospital management headed by the ED entered into tenancy agreements and Memoranda of Understanding with two private Pharmacies including Eco Pharm and First Pharmacy which are operating without licenses and have since 2018 defaulted to paying rent arrears.

These preliminary findings that have so far seen a total of over 20 billion being misappropriated by the National referral hospital are what prompted the arrest of Dr. Byarugaba Baterana who has since the last one month been playing hide and seek with the investigative department.

Having failed to provide satisfactory information by the ED, the unit decided to arrest him to conclude its investigations which will see all the suspects arraigned before the courts of law.