Tribute to doctors we have lost this year

This has been a very trying year for the medical profession in the world and Uganda in particular. A number of medical workers have succumbed to Covid-19 while others died of natural causes. Today, we pay tribute to some of the doctors the country has lost.

Charles Nabangi 

Remembered for his developmental initiatives and advocating for better health services in the district, the Mayuge District health officer Dr Charles Nabangi was said to have died of high blood pressure at Nile Hospital in Jinja according to the district senior communication officer, Lukiah Kakai.

Before being appointed District Health Officer, Nabangi served as a medical doctor at St Francis Hospital in Buluba, Baitambogwe Sub-county.
Paul Muzige, the Mayuge District principal assistant secretary said his death was a big loss to the district.

“He was calm, humble, patient, hardworking and dedicated most of the time to his job,” Muzige said.
Dr Richard Idro, the Uganda Medical Association president, described the late as a focused doctor.

“A very quiet man, he used to mind his business and he successfully performed many medical tasks. He was a very focused man,” Idro said.
Nabangi was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Iganga District.

Dr Edward Kigonya

Dr Edward Kigonya, a senior consultant physician at Mulago National Referral Hospital and a specialist in nephrology, died at his home in Mbuya, after a long illness. Kigonya was one of the founders of Kampala Hospital.

Besides his medical work, Kigonya was an accomplished scholar. His works have been published around the world, mostly in medical journals.
He headed the renal dialysis unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital and worked as a senior consultant at Nsambya Hospital. In 2001, Cardinal Wamala appointed him to head a 20-member board of governors.

He was a member of the Association of Surgeons of East Africa and College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa. 
“He was a teacher, kidney specialist, an ethics man with detailed lectures. He would teach from the first principles,” says Dr Idro.

Likewise, Dr Sabrina Kitaka, a consultant paediatrician and lecturer at Makerere University School of Medicine also referred to the deceased as a great teacher.

“His nephrology classes were excellent and never forgotten. Our hearts are with his family during this very trying time,” she said.

Dr Samwiri Kamya

Dr Samwiri Kamya, a surgeon and former chairperson of the Health Service Commission died on Wednesday November 4 after two weeks of admission at the Mulago National Referral Hospital Intensive Care Unit after testing positive for Covid-19.

According to Idro, Kamya was a senior consultant surgeon and grew through the ranks to become a senior consultant. 
“He headed one of the wards and was a former chairperson of the Health Service Commission,” he said.

Dr Peter Mugisha

A dermatologist at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Dr Peter Mugisha, 38, became the first medic to succumb to Covid-19 in the Western region. He was a lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology and Kampala International University Western campus, prior to his demise. 
Dr Celestine Barigye, the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital director confirmed that his death was related to Covid-19.

“He could hardly breathe without oxygen. We carried out a CT scan and diagnosed symptoms similar to Covid -19. We, then, took his swab samples to Kampala. Unfortunately he died,” Barigye said.
He hailed from Rukarara Sub-county in Kanungu District and is survived by a wife and children.

Dr Patrick Odongo 

Although he was  diabetic, there was speculation that his condition worsened when Dr Patrick Odongo 56, a surgeon at Lira Regional Hospital contracted Covid-19. Odongo breathed his last in Lira Regional Hospital intensive care unit where he used to work.

He was at the forefront of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to his death, Dr Odongo was quoted by Daily Monitor urging urban authorities along the truck routes to tighten regulations so as to prevent truck drivers from spreading the virus
“Trucks should have designated stopping points and this should be widely publicised. No truck should stop in undesignated areas,” he said.

Dr Michael Musiitwa Mugwanya

Dr Michael Musiitwa Mugwanya who was the District Health Officer (DHO) in charge of Kiboga District succumbed to Covid-19 on Tuesday December 8, at Mulago National Referral Hospital where he had been admitted.  Before being appointed a DHO, Musiitwa first served as the medical superintendent of Kiboga General Hospital.

Roy William Mayega, who Dr Musiitwa immediately succeeded at Bukomero Health Center IV in Kiboga District described the deceased as a committed and dedicated health worker.

“He and other colleagues came into the wilderness that was Kiboga right from medical school with their young families, worked in deeply rural health facilities with no mobile network, extremely rough roads,” Mr Roy Mayega, a friend of the deceased, said in his tribute.

Meanwhile Idro also described Musiitwa as a hard worker. “He set up lower health units in Kiboga, made functional the health centre IVs and rose from being a medical officer to a superintendent and eventually DHO,” Idro said.

Dr Edward Ddumba

Dr Edward Ddumba, a specialist in neurology (branch of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system) and senior consultant physician succumbed to cancer-related complications on Saturday April 11 at the age of 67.

He served as executive director of Mulago National Referral Hospital from 2006 to 2010 and was the medical director of Nsambya Hospital prior to his death. He was a senior medical expert and consultant of Uganda Sickle Cell Rescue Fund in Uganda. He also headed the department of Internal Medicine at Mulago national Referral Hospital as well as teaching medicine at Makerere University College of Health Sciences for over two decades. 

At his death, former Forum for Democratic Change President Dr Kizza Besigye tweeted, “Great loss at a terrible time!”
Dr Ddumba taught and mentored many physicians, treated many Ugandans and improved the quality of life through his service as a Rotarian. “He was a great physician and had great skills in teaching. He would make us laugh and he taught a lot of doctors,” says Dr Idro.

Dr Yasin Kiyemba 

Dr Yasin Kiyemba, the Rakai Hospital Medical Superintendent was admitted at Nsambya Hospital in November with complications and a test later revealed he had contracted Covid-19 according to Rakai Hospital administrator, Patrick Ssekidde.
He was then immediately transferred to Mulago National Referral where he breathed his last. 
He is said to have been very active in the fight against Covid-19 in his district and in the hospital. He was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Kinoni, Masaka.

Dr Richard Kanyerezi

According to Dr Richard Idro, the Uganda Medical Association president, Dr Kanyerezi was one of the doctors who trained early in life and took over after many of the white doctors left Uganda.    
At his death, Dr Emmanuel Ssekasanvu, his personal physician confirmed to Daily Monitor that Prof Kanyerezi succumbed to a stroke he had suffered two-and-a half weeks before his death.  “He was always available and worked with a concentration that puts the life of a patient first before money, Dr Sekasanvu says. 

Born on September 13, 1934, Prof  Richard Masembe Kanyerezi breathed his last on December 30, 2019 at his home in Rubaga, Kampala.
A rheumatologist, (doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating inflammatory conditions that affect the joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles) he was one of the founders of Kampala Hospital.