KABALE HOSPITAL MORTUARY ATTENDANTS ACCUSED OF EXTORTION

By Kevin Tuheirwe

www.mknewslink.com

In Kabale—-

Mortuary attendants at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital are accused of extorting money from relatives for the dead bodies.

The concern was raised on Friday morning during a community dialogue that was organized by PATH; anon profit organization that is implementing the Advocacy for Better Health, to improve availability, accessibility, and quality of health and social services in Uganda that held in Kabale Municipal stadium.

Eve Namara from Mafuuga Cell, in Butobere Ward of Kabale Municipality who is a Community Health Promoter under the Butobere Twimukye Association, says that people are being charged money between 100,000 and 200,000 shillings.

Namara said that yesterday she received a complaint that the body of Anthony Muhwezi aged 25, a resident of Bushuro parish, Kitumba Sub County who died in an accident was also charged with over 20000 shillings in order to hand over the body to the family.

Justus Tindyebwa, a champion of advocacy for better health in Butobere ward explains that he recently felt a victim when his cousin sister died in an accident in Kabale town and the mortally attendant tried to solicit the family shillings 190,000 before in order to make postmortems. They say that the issue has been there for over years.

Speaking as the chief guest at the function, the Kabale District Deputy RDC Gad Rugaju expressed dismay about such health workers who extort money from people saying that he will make a follow up on such people so as they can face legal action.

In a phone interview with www.mknewslink.com , Principal Nursing officer at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital, Christine Akurut admitted the allegations, but said that they still have a challenge of people who report outside in the public and fail to report to the office of the hospital administrators.

Akurut urges members of the public to always report such cases to Hospital administrators so that necessary action is taken, adding that no one is supposed to pay in order to claim a body from the Hospital Mortuary.

Source: www.mknewslink.com a greater western Uganda news website
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