MP Malende evacuated to Kenya for treatment
Ms Shamim Malende attends a press conference at Kamwokya, Kampala in 2023. PHOTO/MICHEAL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- Malende’s spouse, Andrew Ssebunya, speaking in a phone interview on April 10, 2025, expressed frustration over what he described as Parliament's indifference toward Malende’s deteriorating condition.
Kampala Woman Member of Parliament, Shamim Malende, was on Wednesday, April 10, 2025, flown to Aga Khan Hospital in Kenya for specialised medical treatment, following doctors’ advice after her health condition worsened.
According to Malende, her current complications stem from injuries sustained during a violent altercation in Parliament on November 6, 2024, during the chaotic passing of the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill. She alleges that she was manhandled during the scuffle, causing trauma to surgical wounds from a previous operation in 2022 and leading to a prolonged, complex recovery.
“I was heavily manhandled during the scuffle in the reading of the Coffee Bill. Since then, I’ve been receiving treatment at Nsambya Hospital. Doctors advised that I return to Aga Khan Hospital in Kenya, where I had my previous surgery,” she said on Thursday from her home in Tula, Kawempe as she set off for Nairobi.
“I feel intense pain, I can’t support myself to walk, I have difficulty breathing, and low oxygen and blood circulation are now affecting my heart function,” she added.
During the chaotic November 6 plenary session, tensions erupted between MPs Francis Zaake (Mityana Municipality) and Anthony Akol (Kilak North), leading to a physical altercation and eventual suspension of the sitting. Security personnel were later deployed to the chambers and reportedly used force to remove several opposition MPs, including Malende.
She says the violence during her removal worsened her health condition, which has kept her bedridden and under care at Nsambya Hospital until her transfer to Kenya for advanced treatment. Notably, her evacuation and medical expenses were not facilitated by Parliament.
According to Uganda’s Parliamentary policy on MPs' privileges, lawmakers are entitled to medical insurance for treatment within the country. For treatment abroad, costs are covered only upon recommendation and clearance by the Parliament Medical Board, through the Clerk to Parliament.
Malende’s spouse, Andrew Ssebunya, speaking in a phone interview on April 10, 2025, expressed frustration over what he described as Parliament's indifference toward Malende’s deteriorating condition.
“We wrote to Speaker Anita Among and the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Adolf Mwesige, informing them of Shamim’s condition and seeking guidance, but we received no response,” Ssebunya said.
“With help from the National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership, we raised funds and managed to fly her to Aga Khan Hospital. Her condition remains unstable,” he added, although he was not able to share a copy of the said letter by press time as he was attending to his patient.
However, Parliament’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Mr Chris Obore, told Monitor that the institution had not received any official communication regarding Malende’s need for treatment abroad.
“The Office of the Clerk was not notified. If a formal request had been made, the Clerk would have been in a position to assist. As it stands, we only heard about it through the media,” Obore said.
Malende’s case is not isolated. The late Muhammad Ssegirinya, former Kawempe North MP, also accused Parliament of failing to support his medical treatment abroad before his passing on January 9, 2025, after seeking care in the Netherlands and Kenya.
