Shocking yet funny details have emerged about why Dr Byarugaba Baterana the Executive Director Mulago national referral hospital was arrested by the State House Health Monitoring Unit.
Dr.Byarugaba is currently being detained at Jinja road police station and is yet to be released any time soon.
Dr. Warren Namara the Director State House Health Monitoring Unit while addressing the media at Uganda Media Center said the reason for Dr Byarugaba’s arrest was failure to pick his phone call last week.
Dr.Namara who struggled to answer questions from several journalists claimed that Dr Byarugaba is being investigated for misusing about shs 2bn about two years back.
He also failed to answer questions from journalists as to why Dr Baterana was arrested alone yet he works with the principal accountants and the management Board of Mulago national referral as his supervisors.
This website has learnt that some time back in around August, 2021 Dr Baterana was requested by the State House Health Monitoring Unit (HMU) to provide information concerning finances relating to Mulago national referral hospital which he duly submitted as requested.
However, on the 15th day of February, 2022, Dr. Warren Namara
wrote a letter to Dr Byarugaba inviting him at Nakasero office to provide information relating to investigations vide CID-HQTRS E/363/2021.
It has also been further established that the invitation did not give Dr Byarugaba ample time to prepare for the invitation since the invitation required him to provide information on the said investigations.
Due to the short notice, Byarugaba wrote a letter requesting for more time to reschedule the said invitation.
Dr. Warren Namara the head of State House Health Monitoring Unit did not respond to the request by Dr Byarugaba to reschedule the said invitation.
Namara instead submitted his report to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health Dr Diana Atwine who then wrote to Kanyesigye Edward the Chairperson of the Management Board of Mulago National Referral to invite Byarugaba to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
Furthermore, before Dr. Warren Namara could hear from Dr Byarugaba, he submitted his impugned report to DR. Diana Atwine without hearing from the accused.
Dr Byarugaba’s lawyers say PS Dr Diana Atwine without any legal authority involved herself in financial matters of Mulago National Referral Hospital by writing to invite Dr Byarugaba to show cause.
Defense lawyers argue that the Chairperson of the Management Board of Mulago National Referral Hospital has now also written requiring Dr Byarugaba to respond to the issues raised in the letter by Dr Atwine based on the impugned report of Dr Namara the actions they say are illegal.
They also say their client at all material times has diligently, ethically and professionally executed his duties and obligations as the Executive Director of Mulago National Referral Hospital Since his appointment in August, 2011.
It has been established that the said complaint against Dr Byarugaba was made at Kibuli CID Headquarters Vide CID HQTRS E/363/2021 by an unknown person regarding alleged embezzlement of funds at Mulago National Referral Hospital and inquiries and investigations were initiated by the State House Health Monitoring Unit (HMU) that the Health Monitoring Unit then in mid-2021, requested him to submit information which he duly submitted.
Dr Byarugaba then got information from Mr. Robert Wakise and Ms. Catherine Nabwire the directors in M/s Setramaco International Limited and Conventional World Limited, service providers of Mulago National Referral Hospital for over 10 years that Dr. Warren Naamara summoned them to appear before him based on the fact that they are stakeholders in the above companies.
The two confined to him that when they appeared before the Health Monitoring Unit, they were forced, threatened and coerced to make statements incriminating him into having engaged into acts of embezzlement which they totally refused to make.
Following their refusal to make such incriminating statements against him, Mr. Robert Wasike and Ms. Catherin Nabwire, were detained for 7 (Seven) days before they were unconditionally released on the orders of Court.
However, on the 15th day of February, 2022 Dr Namara the director of the Health Monitoring Unit (HMU) went on and wrote a letter inviting Dr Byarugaba to appear at HMU offices at Nakasero on the 17th day of February, 2022 at 10:00am to provide information relating to investigations vide CID-HQTRS E/363/2021.
Dr Byarugaba says the invitation issued on the 15th February, 2022 inviting him to appear on the 17th February, 2022 was a very short notice which did not give him ample time to prepare for the invitation as the invitation required him to provide information which had to be organized before presentation.
On the 17th February, 2022 through his lawyers M/S Tumwebaze Emmanuel Advocates & Solicitors wrote a letter to Dr Namara requesting for rescheduling of the invitation to the 28th day of February, 2022 to enable him prepare for the invitation.
“He duly received the letter but did not respond to my request to reschedule the meeting to the 28th day of February, 2022 or communicate to me on the forward on the issue up-to-date. I kept waiting for his reply to my request”.
The impugned report was never given to him by Dr. Warren Namara to respond to any issues raised in it before being finalized and or submitted to Dr Diana Atwine.
Dr Baterana maintains that Dr Atwine has no right or authority to direct the Mulago hospital board to initiate disciplinary action against him as well as invite him to the management Board of Mulago National Referral Hospital on financial matters.
He argues that as the accounting officer of Mulago National Referral Hospital, he is only responsible and accountable to the Ministry of Finance, parliament and Auditor General on financial issues not the Director State House Monitoring Unit and PS Diana Atwine.
As a matter of fact the Auditor General made an audit of the financial year ended 30th June, 2021 and made his report which report did not implicate Dr Byarugaba at all but the new accusers have chosen to ignore the Auditor’s Report for their own selfish motives.
Dr Diana Atwine is also accused of using Dr Namara as the head of state house health monitoring unit to fulfill her sinister motives of frustrating Dr Byarugaba in his career since SHHMU has no legal authority to carry out investigations or make a report that can be relied upon by Dr Atwine and Namara to initiate any disciplinary action against Dr Byarugaba.
Esau Turyatunga and Dickson Ampumuza Kagurusi all activists from Kanungu say Dr Diana Atwine is fighting Dr Byarugaba to kick him out of office using fake cases in order to bring a new person of her choice.
“They want to kick him out of office by bringing an interdiction letter such that by the time he is cleared, she will have brought her own new person in that office of the Executive Director,” he said.
He adds that “This is what happened at NAGRC & DB, he was arrested in the same manner by the mafias and by the time he was cleared, they had already brought in their own person of choice”