Ugandan politics is serious business, so serious that sometimes the best way to understand it is to laugh, slowly, painfully, and with facts in hand.
Let us revisit 2017, the year of Togikwatako drama in Parliament, when tempers flared and fists flew faster than legislation. In the middle of the chaos, Hon. Betty Nambooze emerged as one of the most injured legislators, reportedly suffering serious backbone damage after security operatives stormed Parliament.
Government, under then Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, moved swiftly and facilitated Hon. Nambooze’s treatment abroad, allocating approximately UGX 880 million for specialized medical care in India. As expected in such circumstances, her close family accompanied her, and the treatment process extended for years through follow-up medical reviews in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Eventually, doctors declared her health restored.
By 2020, Hon. Nambooze was active again in politics, vigorously participating in campaigns and later emerging as a strong voice in the Opposition.
Then came 2021. The country watched closely as Speaker Jacob Oulanyah was flown to the United States for treatment, triggering heated debate among Ugandans both at home and in the diaspora. Many questioned why top officials consistently seek foreign medical care while local hospitals remain under-resourced.
Among the loudest critics at the time was Hon. Nambooze, who passionately argued that the money spent on treatment abroad could instead fund well-equipped hospitals in Uganda to benefit ordinary citizens. Her outspoken stance resonated widely with the public and fueled political pressure on the government.
However, controversy later emerged when reports circulated that Hon. Nambooze herself was subsequently supported to seek treatment in the United States, despite earlier having received extensive treatment and being declared healed. Questions followed regarding whether this was medical necessity, political convenience, or both, especially since the parliamentary medical scheme typically caters for treatment in India and South Africa, not the U.S., and rarely reaches figures approaching a billion shillings.
Matters intensified when it was later alleged that the substantial funds linked to her treatment had originally been earmarked for a maternity ward project at Mukono General Hospital, a ward that never materialised.
If true, it would mean somewhere between Mukono and Washington D.C., expectant mothers may have lost a health facility while politics gained another complex chapter.
Today, Hon. Nambooze remains vocal on issues of accountability, governance, and misuse of public resources. Meanwhile, mothers in Mukono continue to seek care in strained conditions, and Ugandans continue to ask difficult questions about priorities, fairness, and transparency in public spending.
If there is one lesson to draw from this saga, it is that in Ugandan politics, even hospitals are not immune from controversy, and sometimes, projects don’t die. They simply travel.
