Mulago National Referral Hospital has dismissed allegations made by Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court judge Irene Mulyagonja that the hospital lacks essential medicines and medical supplies, describing the claims as “unfounded.”
In a viral social media video posted earlier this week, Justice Mulyagonja accused the hospital of failing to provide basic items such as insulin and nasogastric (NG) tubes during the treatment of her late husband, John Baptist Kakooza. Mulyagonja referred to Mulago as “just a monument,” alleging that the hospital failed in its duty of care.
Addressing the media on Friday, Mulago’s executive director, Dr. Rosemary Byanyima, confirmed that Kakooza was admitted to the hospital’s private wing on April 9, 2025—three days after he reportedly began refusing food and medication. She strongly refuted the claim that the hospital lacked supplies.
“Emergency insulin is stored centrally in the medical emergency unit. When insulin was prescribed for Mr. Kakooza on ward 6B, a nurse accompanied by his son, who was his attendant at the time, went to the emergency unit, collected the insulin, and it was administered. This is clearly recorded in his medical file,” said Dr. Byanyima.
She added that the NG tube, necessary for feeding and administering oral medication, was initially declined by the family. Consent was only given six days later, by which time the patient’s condition had deteriorated.
“Our initial treatment plan included inserting an NG tube to support feeding and oral medication. Unfortunately, the family initially declined this intervention. It wasn’t until April 15 that consent was granted—six days later. Meanwhile, the patient was on intravenous fluids and began to deteriorate,” Dr. Byanyima explained.
Kakooza, a prominent lawyer and Democratic Party (DP) stalwart, passed away on May 17, 2025. According to Mulyagonja, the family initially sought care at multiple private hospitals, including Nsambya Hospital, before transferring to Mulago due to rising medical costs. He was later discharged from Mulago in improved condition on May 6 and was scheduled for a follow-up review on May 20. Kakooza died at Mukwaya General Hospital.
Dr. Byanyima expressed surprise at Mulyagonja’s video and maintained that the hospital did everything possible under the circumstances. While acknowledging broader systemic issues such as drug stock-outs and staffing shortages, she insisted that insulin was readily available and properly administered in this case.
“Of course, we have challenges. We’ve shared these before the parliamentary health committee, including understaffing and limited funding. Currently, we operate on less than 30% of our required budget,” she said.
“What hurt us most were the public allegations that certain items were unavailable when, in fact, they were. Still, we need more support to improve our patient-to-nurse ratio and bring more specialists on board.”
Justice Mulyagonja’s remarks come amid ongoing concerns about Uganda’s public healthcare system, including inadequate funding and high out-of-pocket expenses for patients. Ironically, in 2024, Mulyagonja ruled in favor of the government’s decision to allocate over $379 million to construct Lubowa Hospital—despite public outcry about underfunding at existing facilities like Mulago.
Despite persistent appeals for increased government funding, Mulago Hospital—Uganda’s primary national referral facility—continues to grapple with limited resources, constrained staffing, and equipment shortages.
