Bududa Medics Flee as Mother who Failed to Pay Bribe Dies in Labour

Bududa hospital is on the spot over the death of an expectant mother who died early this morning after health workers allegedly refused to attend to her for failing to pay money at the public maternal facility.

The deceased, Jenifer Nasaka aged 31, was a resident of Bunasaba central village, Bumakita parish in Nalwanza Sub county Bududa district. According to Lornah Matuka, the immediate attendant and mother to the deceased, she was tossed from one health worker to the other and later asked by one of the health workers to pay two hundred thousand shillings (200,000) to facilitate the treatment of her patient, which she never had.

“I even left my phone with one of the health workers to get some drugs since I never had money,” the mother to the deceased said.

Residents who spoke to this reporter say they have had similar experiences in Bududa General Hospital of being asked for money before being attended to, something that has continued to make them fear to seek health care there.

By press time Nasaka’s body was undergoing postmortem and a meeting between security personnel the deceased’s relatives with the hospital administration was taking place.

Efforts to get a comment from the medical personnel who refused to attended to the late Nasaka before were futile since they were on the run due to fear and pressure from the relatives of the deceased who looked very angry.

This is not the first expectant mother to died under similar circumstances at Bududa General Hospital. Several recent, heartbreaking cases of pregnant mothers dying due to alleged lack of attention have been reported in the hospital, primarily involving failures in care during labor, lack of urgent intervention, and other hospital shortcomings.