By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE CITY
Shock engulfed Busamaga Health Centre III in Busamaga Ward, Industrial City Division, Mbale City, after an unidentified man was caught red-handed trying to escape with government drugs at the facility gate.
The incident happened today Saturday, 4th September, 2026 at around 10:00 a.m. when community members saw him leaving the gate carrying items in a black polythene bag suspected to contain drugs.
The community became suspicious, apprehended him, locked him in one of the rooms at the facility, and started checking his polythene bag.
During the check, they found him with different drugs which he claimed he had bought from a pharmacy in town, along with one bottle of IV fluids and a cannula giving sets labelled “Government of Uganda,” suspected to have been stolen from Busamaga Health Centre III.
The suspect was interrogated by locals and claimed he got the drugs from Busamaga Health Centre III and that they were given to him by the pharmacist, who later denied him when asked.
He was later pardoned and given a serious warning, but all the drugs were taken from him and returned to the facility.
Residents said they took action because whenever the National Medical Stores delivers drugs to the facility, health workers allegedly take them to their private clinics, and within a week you hear that there are no drugs at the facility, leaving them with many unanswered questions.
This comes just days after, on Monday, Hamuza Banja, the Mbale Resident City Commissioner in charge of Industrial City Division, held a meeting with Busamaga staff and the community over drug theft at the facility, absenteeism, late reporting, and not operating on weekends after locals raised complaints.
When contacted about the incident, Banja praised the community for owning the facility and for showing patriotism, saying all people in the city and the country should emulate them to fight drug theft in government facilities.
By press time, no staff, including the in-charge Janet Nabulo , was at the facility yet it was working time to give a comment, except the pharmacist.
