'Wamala was a hardworking and humble pathologist'

Barely three months after being diagnosed with bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), Dr Dan Wamala Serwanga succumbed to the illness on March 22. He was just 58 and had served as a senior consultant pathologist at Mulago National Referral Hospital.

A resourceful figure in clinical services and academia within Uganda and beyond, Dr Wamala served with distinction during his more than two decades of service at Mulago hospital. Nearly 15 of those years were spent as a senior consultant. 

Born on February 16, 1966, at Mulago hospital, to the late Edward and Violet Serwanga, Dr Wamala spent his formative years in the nurturing embrace of Mukubira Zone, Makerere, where he also attended his junior education. 

After excelling at Makerere College School, he pursued his passion for medicine at Makerere University Medical School, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery. He furthered his expertise with a Master of Medical Science in Cytopathology from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and a PhD in Pathology from Karolinska Institute, Sweden (2011-2016).

On completion of his master’s degree, together with his colleague Dr Emmanuel Othieno, he started the cytopathology degree course (examining small cells for disease or cancer) at Makerere University. To him, anything was doable as long as you put your heart into it. It was not surprising when he opted to do pathology for his postgraduate, a path many did not choose in the late 1990s. 

“Many of us did not like pathology because the lecturers who taught pathology were not the kind whom you would call role models. Two of them loved alcohol, and another one used to smoke even when he was at work, and as students, we saw this, but we were amazed when Dr Wamala chose pathology, and he never practiced any of those things like smoking and alcoholism,” Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the executive director of Mulago hospital and Dr Wamala’s former classmate, recalled.

Dr Byanyima added: “He was always early at work and never left patients’ cases uncompleted on his desk. He loved walking around in his short-sleeved shirt, even when he donned a necktie.”

Family man
His love for knowledge was surpassed only by his love for his family, whom he cherished above all else. Dr Wamala valued his role as a devoted husband to his wife Joy Wamala, whom he married on November 13, 1999 at All Saints Cathedral Nakasero. He was also a loving father to his children, Roy, Chris, Dan, Abigail, Ashley, Ariana, and Azaria, who now survive him.

He was not only the head of his biological family but also the heir to his late father’s legacy, embodying the values of integrity, hard work, and familial duty. He was not merely a provider but a steadfast mentor, instilling in his children the values of hard work, honesty, and the pursuit of education. His children say, if they wanted any gadget, they presented how much they saved first, promoting the spirit of contribution. 

“He was also composed with a high level of emotional intelligence. He would never raise his voice at anyone or raise his hand to beat or slap but was very firm on his decisions,” Prof Jennifer Serwanga, Dr Wamala’s sister, said.

Dr Wamala’s life was defined by values that transcended the professional realm. Impeccable time management skills, commitment to education, and a principled stance against dishonesty characterised him. Beyond his professional pursuits, Dr Wamala found solace in current affairs and literature, spending his free time immersed in reading and staying informed about the world around him. 

Per Prof Serwanga, Dr Wamala was always very picky about what he ate. It did not matter how hungry he was, “If he did not like something, he would not eat it.”

Distinguished career
Dr Sam Kalungi, the head of the Pathology Department at Mulago hospital, said Dr Wamala was part of the team of expert pathologists that handled the cases of the tourists who were murdered in Bwindi in 1999. 

He also headed the Department of Pathology between 2007 and 2012, overseeing both academic and clinical services. During this time, he lobbied for an increase in the grant for pathology services from the Ministry of Health. A special vote was consequently set aside by the ministry to cater to pathology services.

Dr Kalungi said Dr Wamala taught his juniors and colleagues with great passion, calmness, and friendship. His simplicity and humility were exemplified by the fact that he would never hesitate to consult a junior colleague on a difficult case.

“One of the most memorable cases was when we had a difficult cancer case of a patient who had a swelling in the chest. He gave a diagnosis that was uncommon, but on doing further tests his diagnosis was confirmed. It surprised all of us that he had managed to make a correct diagnosis of such a rare disease,” Dr Kalungi recounted, adding that Dr Wamala insisted on proper procedures, proper documentation, and quality assurance.

Hailed
Dr Wamala, who only stopped working a month before his death, was a stickler for standards, a strict timekeeper, and dedicated to his work. When Dr Peter Ddungu met him in 1986 at Makerere University, the no-nonsense young man left an impression.

“I had not seen Dan for some time, but I had known him quite well. In our first year and second years, we usually walked together from Mitchell Hall through Katanga slum to the medical school,” Dr Ddungu said at the funeral service.

He added: “We shared a room at Galloway Hostel in Mulago in our third, fourth, and fifth years after which we went separate ways. He was fairly reserved and paid a lot of attention to his academics unless you got close to him. When I lost my father in my second year at university, we were in different rooms at Mitchell Hall, but he comforted me. He was a guy who I would count on around that time.”

Dr Emmanuel Ssekasanvu, a nephrologist who met Dr Wamala in Senior Five through a mutual friend at Makerere College School and later at the medical school, said his late colleague was a reserved but intelligent student who did not fail any assessment. 

“He was also one of the first people to study pathology in kidney diseases,” he said.
Dr Emmanuel Othieno described Dr Wamala as a go-getter who would say, “You have to do it, if you do not do it, nobody will.”

Dr Sylvester Onzivua, a pathologist who also met Dr Wamala as an undergrad, said he was a workaholic.
“One of our responsibilities was marking exams and having results released in time and on this, he had no compromise. Apart from being good at accurate diagnosis, he was one of the first people to take the fine needle aspiration biopsy course (where a diagnosis is made by removing small samples of tissue using needles) in Uganda,” Dr Onzivua noted.

Dr Harriet Kisembo Nalubega, a senior consultant radiologist and clinical head of the Directorate of Diagnostic at Mulago hospital, said Dr Wamala was a great time manager. 

“He stayed very far from the hospital but by 6am he was always in the hospital,” she recalled, adding, “He selflessly gave his unwavering commitment, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Final days  

“In mid-December, 2023, [Dr Dan Wamala Serwanga] Wamala requested to go to Tanzania as an external examiner and he was fine. The next time I saw him in February 2024, he had lost almost 50 percent of his normal weight,” Dr Harriet Kisembo Nalubega, a senior consultant radiologist and clinical head of the Directorate of Diagnostic at Mulago hospital, who was also Dr Wamala’s former classmate and later immediate supervisor, said.

When asked about Dr Wamala’s moments before the diagnosis was made, his wife, Joy, said: “It is not very uplifting describing the journey of cancer…It is an aggressive cancer that gives one very few options for planning what next. We do not wish to rewind that feeling...”

Dr Kisembo told Sunday Monitor: “I had an opportunity to check on him the day he passed on and prayed with him at around 10.30am, encouraged him to hold onto Jesus, and then he passed on at 4.30pm the same day.” 
In his last moments, he found peace in his faith, accepting the embrace of his Saviour and finding comfort in the promise of eternal peace as per his sister Prof Jennifer Serwanga. Dr Wamala was laid to rest on March 24 at Namakofu, Zirobwe Sub-county, Luweero District.