Overview:
The IGG further found patients sleeping outside under tents due to congestion, while others were admitted under beds inside the wards. Some patients reported being charged large sums of money but spending weeks without receiving treatment.
The Inspector General of Government, Justice Aisha Naluzze, on Wednesday made an impromptu spot check at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, unearthing serious operational and management challenges affecting service delivery. Top among the discoveries was a non-functional CT-scan machine that has been idle since June 2025. The hospital’s Digital X-ray machine was also found with expired films, crippling diagnostic services.
The IGG further found patients sleeping outside under tents due to congestion, while others were admitted under beds inside the wards. Some patients reported being charged large sums of money but spending weeks without receiving treatment. The Inspectorate also established that patients seeking MRI, CT-scan, and X-ray services are charged between 200,000 and 750,000 shillings.
During an interaction with patients, Johnson Arinda from Mitooma District told the Inspector General that he had spent three weeks without being attended to, despite paying 500,000 shillings and an additional 250,000 shillings for a blood check.Vicent Sengo, another patient, said he was chased from his admission bed and out of the ward before completing his treatment, despite not being formally discharged. “I still have medicine they give me through this catheter; they have not yet discharged me, but we were chased out of the ward. I come from far. I would go home and always come for the medication, so I sleep under this tent as I finish my treatment,” he said.
Savior Kakooza Ntesinbe, the Ombudsman, said the team discovered several systemic challenges, including understaffing, inadequate drug storage space, delayed staff validation—last conducted in 2024—which he argued could lead to payment of ghost workers, and severe patient congestion. In response, Acting Hospital Director Dr Deus Twesigye acknowledged the failure to use the machines but promised to improvise and ensure they are operational. He also pledged to investigate staff accused of soliciting money from patients and other complaints raised.
On bed capacity, Dr Twesigye explained that the hospital was constructed in 1930 with a capacity of 240 beds. It currently has 545 beds and admits between 500 and 600 patients weekly. “We get referrals from all over the region, even regional referral hospitals refer patients here, because super specialized services that include Cancer unit, Neurology, International accredited laboratory, among others, so we are overwhelmed by patients, hence such admissions”.
Justice Naluzze tasked Dr Twesigye to investigate who handles the non-taxable revenues collected from MRI and CT-scan services, how the funds are managed, and where they are kept, and to submit a report to her office. Twesigye was also directed to meet the IGG’s team next week for further interrogations on additional issues that were kept out of the media.
He was further instructed to present a list of all hospital staff under the government payroll, as well as those employed through service providers and partners. Earlier, Justice Naluzze conducted a familiarization tour of her regional office and local government units in the area, including Mbarara District and Mbarara City. She held two meetings with district leadership led by Deputy Resident District Commissioner Michael Muhoozi, Chief Administrative Officer David Muhwezi, and the political team led by Saveriuos Nuwagiira, District Councilor representing Bukiiro Sub County and representative of the District Chairperson.
Justice Naluzze and her team were also taken to land in Kamukuzi, Mbarara City North Division, which the district offered to the IGG’s office for the construction of a regional office. Last year, the Mbarara District Council passed a resolution allocating half an acre of land to the Inspectorate of Government to bring services closer to the people. During the tour, Justice Naluzze and Chief Administrative Officer Muhwezi agreed to expedite the transfer of the land title to enable the commencement of construction.
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