Kenyan Collapses & Dies in Kampala City

A bus stage at Namayiba in Kampala City, Uganda.
A bus stage at Namayiba in Kampala City, Uganda.
File

A Kenyan national collapsed and died at a matatu stage in Kampala while escaping Uganda's largest government-owned hospital. 

Confirming the incident to the press on Sunday, June 12, Uganda Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire noted that Lynet Mujuma passed away on the evening of Saturday, June 11.

She collapsed while at Mbale Stage at the Old Taxi Park in Kampala, Uganda, presumably seeking to board a vehicle.

Owoyesigyire further revealed that earlier, Mujuma had been admitted to Mulago Hospital where she was being cared for by her cousin Bernard Wafula.

The Old Taxi Park in Ugandan capital city of Kampala.
The Old Taxi Park in Ugandan capital city of Kampala.
File

The Police Spokesperson disclosed that an investigation into the incident had been opened with a postmortem report expected to shed more light on her death

"Police were called in and the body was taken to the city mortuary for a post-mortem. Investigations into the cause of her death are ongoing," the spokesperson stated.

The 45-year-old collapsed and died while in the backseat of a taxi.

Mulago Hospital is ranked as the oldest Hospital in Uganda owned by the state since its construction in 1913, the equivalent of Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Kenya.

The hospital operates a bed capacity of 1,500 with diverse services including General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Neurology, Dentistry & Oral Surgery and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) among others.

Uganda, like Kenya and most countries in the East African region, suffers from inadequate healthcare facilities that have been compounded by the high cost of medical care. 

Patients who are unable to afford the cost of care often stay away from hospitals while others access the facilities but use unorthodox means to get their freedom. 

In 2017, then KNH CEO Lily Koros noted that the facility had lost Ksh5.4 billion to patients who seek care but escape before clearing their bills. 

According to the World Bank's latest available data, the death rate in Uganda has been on a steady decline from 20 per 1,000 people in the 1960s to just 6.2 per 1,000 people in 2020.

In comparison, the World Bank placed Kenya's death rate at 5.34 per 1,000 people which is significantly lower than that of Uganda.

Uganda Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire
Uganda Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire.
Kampala Dispatch
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