By Spy Uganda
The State House Health Monitoring Unit has today revealed that Mulago National Referral Hospital Executive Director Dr Byarugaba Baterana (who is behind bars) and his juniors are being investigated over corruption, ‘misuse of office’ and embezzlement.
State House commandos who are allergic to corruption arrested Baterana on Monday this week and whisked him away like a helpless chicken to answer among others, how his led administration at Mulago is alleged to be involved in selling of human organs like kidneys, liver etc. Mortal mouthed Tamale Mirundi has been quoted severally complaining that the cartel dealing in human organ trade mostly work in Mulago. This morning, while appearing Government owned Television, Urban TV, former Kawempe Mp Munyagwa Mubarack also re-echoed that indeed Mulago Hospital is leading in the said illegal business.
Addressing the media today at Uganda Media Centre, the State House Health Unit Executive Director Dr Warren Namara, said they started investigating Baterana and colleagues since last year over allegations of swindling UGX 28,806,032,270 which he allegedly misappropriated through various shoddy deals in the last four years.
Among others, Baterana is alleged to have supervised payment of up to Shs 20.5billion to two companies, using forged job cards.
The companies; Setramaco International Ltd, and Convention World Ltd were contracted in 2016 to provide a wide range of services like; running the Laundry Machines, Central Sterile Supply Department, Steam Boilers among others.
“Investigations have so far revealed that based on forged job cards, Work Completion Certificates and duplicated activities, these two Companies were paid by Mulago, a total of UGX 20,537,264,362 a loss occasioned to Government of Uganda under dubious and fictitious payments for supply of services and consumables,” he said.
Following interviews with dozens of current and former Mulago staff, the State House found that a total of 974,347,291 is unaccounted for/ misappropriated to for the period of two years July 2019 to June 2021.
“The Accounting officer failed to notify the Accountant General about the missing vouchers amounting to 5,273,728,607” Namara says.
In another instance, Baterana and other top officials at Mulago are said to have supervised suspicious Procurement of Medicines and other Medical Supplies, paying a company named First Pharmacy up to Shs 1.4billion for medicines, which were never received by Kiruddu Hospital.
Baterana and other Mulago officials are also being accused of entering into ten years Memoranda of Understanding and Tenancy Agreements with private pharmacies, Ecopharm and First Pharmacy to operate within the Hospital premises.
“The said MOU and Tenancy Agreements between Mulago Hospital and the two private Pharmacies were poorly executed and without clearance from the relevant Government Authorities,” Namara says.
“The Pharmacies are operating illegally without National Drug Authority Licenses. Due to these poorly executed MOUs and Tenancy Agreements, both Eco Pharm Pharmacy and First Pharmacy had defaulted on paying rent to the tune of UGX 135,000,0001= for Eco Pharm Pharmacy and 67,500,000 for First Pharmacy respectively by November, 2021.”
He concluded saying once investigations are done, the officials will be arraigned in courts of law.
