Mulago agrees to open ‘Berlin Wall’, Medical School celebrates

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mulago Specialized National Referral hospital has finally bowed to pressure and reopened the gate connecting to the Makerere University Medical School. The closure of the gate had fueled rumors that it was an extension of the ongoing fights between the two institutions.

However, the Principal Administrator of Mulago Specialized National Referral hospital, David Nuwamanya dispelled the claims in an interview with URN Wednesday, saying that the fence was adopted as part of the design at the time of renovation.

He claimed that prior to the renovation, the hospital had eighteen gates, which paused a security threat. According to Nuwamanya, they decided to reduce the gates to four, which are currently monitored by

However, owing to pilling pressure, the hospital has now been forced to re-open the entrance that connects to the medical school. Earlier, Prof. Nelson Sewankambo, who is a former dean of the Medical School had referred to the wall fence as the Berlin Wall put up to distort the kind of doctors being trained.

Calling it a bad move, he said the hospital administrators who put up the wall had failed to figure out the reason the two institutions are close to each and why previously whoever would be the director of the hospital would also be the dean of the college.

On his part, Prof. Joel Okullo, the Chairman of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council, said the invisible wall has been eating up the two institutions with long quarrels between hospital and university staff over who is responsible for what.

However, Nuwamanya says they have now come up with a team that is going to review the MOU to address any issues, which could be a source of misunderstanding between the two institutions for redress. He says currently, medical students sit their exams in Mulago whereas the Senior House Officers from Makerere University are also accommodated.

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URN