The National Drug Authority (NDA), working with the Uganda Police Force, has arrested a Senior Clinical Officer attached to Nyamuyanja Health Centre IV in Isingiro District over the theft of a huge consignment of government medicines, including more than half a million doses of antiretrovirals (ARVs).
The suspect, Muzahura John Baptist, was tracked down after four weeks of intensive background work, according to NDA spokesperson Abiaz Rwamwiri, who confirmed the arrest on Monday.
“We have finally arrested Muzahura John Baptist, a Senior Clinical Officer of Nyamuyanja Health Centre IV, who has been on the run after being illegally found with over 500,000 doses of antiretrovirals at his home in Nyamitanga, Mbarara City,” said Rwamwiri.
Authorities recovered an extensive haul of government drugs from Muzahura’s residence in Katete, Nyamitanga, including 2,680 doses of antimalarials, 11,500 malaria testing kits, and other medicines such as amoxicillin, gentamicin, calcium lactate, and povidone iodine. All the drugs bore the standard labelling: “Government of Uganda — for public use only, not for sale.”
Investigations revealed that Muzahura had been working with Balhubasa Bridget, the Health Information Assistant and Stores In-Charge at the same health facility.
Bridget was arrested two weeks earlier, and on Monday, she was sentenced to three years in prison by the Isingiro Chief Magistrate’s Court.
Rwamwiri said the arrest of Muzahura was particularly challenging.“I must confess, I have met the most challenging assignment of my recent days! I have not seen a criminal so calculative and with their back so covered like this one,” he said.
“The man went through our hands like a slippery snail. The accomplice even dashed into a shrine in western Uganda — and the hunt continues.”
Despite the efforts by the suspects to evade arrest, NDA insists the recovered items paint a clear picture of the scale of the racket. “Looking at the recoveries, they had to do all that to protect their ‘gains’. Over 500,000 doses of ARVs and tens of thousands of assorted medicines stolen from just two Health Centre IVs in one district,” Rwamwiri noted.
Since 2019, the NDA says it has recovered over Shs15 billion worth of stolen government drugs as part of its ongoing crackdown on drug theft and illegal distribution networks.
Police say further investigations are underway, and more arrests are expected as authorities dismantle what they believe to be a wider network of health workers involved in government drug theft.
