The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A couple has pinned Phillip Akunguru a medical doctor attached to Moroto Regional Referral Hospital for illegally removing uteruses from patients, without their consent.
The couple recorded the statement at Moroto Central Police Station following the arrest of the same doctor by the State House Anti- Corruption Unit. He was arrested on Tuesday by the team led by Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema following complaints of unprofessional conduct lodged against him.
Mario Santo Loyep, a resident of Singila village in Moroto Municipality told the police that his wife’s uterus was removed on June 8, 2019, without her consent. The removal was done soon after the lady, whose name was withheld on request, gave birth to her seventh child, the only boy in a queue of girls.
Once a woman’s uterus is removed, they stop having menstrual periods and are therefore unable to conceive. Loyep faults Dr Akunguru for failing to inform him of the reasons that warranted the removal of the lady’s uterus.
The surgical procedure for the removal of the uterus is used to treat a number of chronic pain conditions as well as certain types of cancer and infections. The conditions may include chronic pelvic pain, uncontrollable vaginal bleeding, cancer of the uterus, cervix, or ovaries, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease, and uterine prolapse, among others.
But Loyep says that various tests by clinics in Moroto trashed the findings from Moroto Regional Referral Hospital about the existence of a condition that threatened the uterus. He says a number of medical staff in the government facility, are conniving with private clinics to exploit unsuspecting patients and their caretakers.
Moses Lorika, a resident of Camp Swahili in South Division also confirmed allegations of illegal uterus removals in the hospital. He says that a number of marriages are on the verge of collapse, as men accuse women of plotting to deny them more children while several others have been presented to hospitals with complications arising out of the procedure.
But Judith Lekuru, a midwife at Moroto Regional Referral Hospital says the removal of uteruses in the hospital is based on the condition of the mother. She explains that some of the mothers whose uteruses were removed had cancer developing while others had other complications.
Moroto ResidentDistrict Commissioner Peter Ken Lochap says the matter is being investigated.
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