Three nurses of Kawempe Hospital have been arrested for allegedly stealing drugs. They were arrested on Thursday by a team of detectives from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the Police.
The head of the Statehouse Anti-Corruption Unit, Col Edith Nakalema identified the suspects as Resty Namulindwa, an assistant nursing officer, Eva Nakiwala a nursing officer, and Maria Nasasira, an enrolled nurse. Two cleaners at the hospital were also arrested.
“Today our team caused the arrest of these ruthless nurses and cleaners at Kawempe Referral Hospital for selling government drugs. Their greed denies our daughters and sisters safe delivery of babies as mothers. I feel pain, but together we can defeat these criminals”, Nakalema said.
A police detective at Kawempe Police station says that the workers were arrested after the police raided the hospital following information from a whistleblower.
“The person who was supposed to take the drugs out of the hospital alerted the police that health workers were planning to steal drugs”, the detective said.
When the detectives stormed the hospital, they found the health workers and cleaners in possession of mama kits, assorted drugs, pain killers, cotton wool, syringes and catheters.
Last month, the police recovered government drugs estimated to be worth 1 Billion Shillings at a private clinic in Nansana Municipality Wakiso district.
The police raided the clinic after residents informed authorities of a truck that offloaded boxes of drugs onto other cars. Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said that during the operation one suspect identified as Patient Kalenzi was arrested and her accomplices still at large were on the run.
