(Kampala) – It is not every day you see members of Uganda’s Parliament getting touchy about something as basic as health checkups. But that is exactly what happened when Jane Avur Pacuto, the Woman MP for Pakwach District, dared to suggest that her fellow MPs should be subjected to mandatory medical screenings. You would think she asked them to hand over their per diem. The mere mention of “compulsory” got her booed like a musician at a concert after arriving three hours late.
Pacuto was not asking for much. She simply pointed out that many of her colleagues were walking around with health complications they probably did not know about, despite having medical insurance and access to a clinic right inside Parliament. According to her, regular medical checks could prevent the kind of sudden death that claimed former Kisoro District Woman MP Sarah Mateke, who tragically passed away from heart complications.
“Despite our big bodies, many of us are moving with health complications we don’t know,” she said, in what sounded like a plea for some preventative self care. But instead of nodding in agreement, a number of MPs responded with boos, like they were at a village football match after the referee makes a questionable call.
Pacuto, not one to be easily intimidated, shot back with the perfect retort: “Hon. Speaker, this confirms what I’m talking about – they don’t want to go for checkups.”
Now, this wouldn’t be the first time MPs have had a health scare right in the chambers. Kasilo County MP Elijah Okupa jumped in to support Pacuto, recalling a time when a colleague collapsed in Parliament and had to be rushed to the clinic. Okupa was referring to Bukimbiri County MP Eddie Kwizera, who collapsed during a session in 2022 while MPs were busy electing members to the East African Legislative Assembly.
Kwizera was quickly carried off by his fellow MPs like a fallen hero. The cause of his collapse was never made public, and it is anyone’s guess whether he had taken Pacuto’s advice about getting regular checkups. Of course, privacy matters, but it did leave a cloud of curiosity hanging over the whole incident.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, trying to bring some order back to the House, calmly suggested that MPs use the Parliamentary Clinic for routine checks. Apparently, the clinic is not just for sitting around waiting for emergencies. Who knew?
In a country where people like to keep their ailments as private as the password to their mobile money account, mandatory health checkups are likely to be about as popular as a pothole during the rainy season. Still, Pacuto makes a valid point: wouldn’t it be nice if the people responsible for making laws that affect our health were themselevs healthy?
Let us look at the numbers for a second. How often do MPs actually go for checkups? It’s not like we’re asking them to trek to Mulago Hospital in traffic; the clinic is right there in the building. Here’s a quick rundown of the situation:
| Issue | Current Reality | Pacuto’s Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| MPs’ access to health care | Parliamentary Clinic on-site | Mandatory checkups every 3 months |
| Typical health check-up habits | Rare, if at all | Improve health awareness |
| Likelihood of compliance | Low (as indicated by boos) | Unknown, but skepticism is high |
You can’t help but wonder why some MPs are so averse to getting their health checked. Is it the fear of discovering something unpleasant, or is it just stubbornness? Either way, it’s a little ironic that the people debating health policies in Parliament might be dodging their own wellness checks.
Pacuto’s push for regular checkups could be seen as an attempt to tackle what’s almost become a tradition in Uganda: waiting until things get really bad before seeking help. It’s like only patching up your thatched roof after the heavy rains have started pouring. But MPs, being the resilient bunch they are, seem determined to stick with the age old Ugandan motto: “If it is not broken, don’t fix it.” Even if, in this case, it might already be broken and they just don’t know it yet.
The matter was left hanging, like many other important issues in our cattle mentality economy that never quite get resolved.
