Suspected quack doctor faces additional DPP charges

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has brought additional charges against Francis Taulula, a suspected quack doctor from Pallisa District, who is accused of forging academic documents, including a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery.

Taulula, who resides in the Industrial Area, Pallisa Town Council, appeared before Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi on Monday for the hearing of his case. Prosecutors Nam Terpista and Ivan Kyazze informed the court that the charge sheet had been amended, with 11 new charges added, including forgery and uttering false documents.

Initially, Taulula had been charged with four offenses, but after the amendments, all new charges were read to him, to which he denied all allegations.

According to the prosecution, on or about 2022, at an unknown location in Uganda, Taulula forged a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery certificate in his name, purporting it to have been issued by Mount Kenya University. Taulula is also accused of forging a transcript under registration number 15/U/O43/MED.

In May 2023, at the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council, Taulula allegedly presented the forged certificate to Dr. Ivan Kisuule, the Registrar, as well as a forged transcript, knowing that the documents were false.

Further charges allege that in 2024, Taulula forged a Gulu University student identification card and a recommendation letter purportedly issued by Dr. Jerry Bagaya, the Academic Registrar of Gulu University. He is also accused of forging an application form for provisional registration and submitting it to the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council.

Prosecutors state that Taulula also forged an annual practicing license and allegedly used these forged documents in various attempts to gain employment. Among the officials who were reportedly given forged documents by Taulula are Miriam Aguti, the Human Resource Manager at Kumi Municipal Council, and Dr. Ivan Kisuule, the Registrar of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council.

Court records reveal that after presenting these false documents, Taulula was granted provisional registration and posted to Hoima Regional Referral Hospital for an internship, which he completed in March 2023. Afterward, Taulula applied for full registration, submitting forged documents from Mount Kenya University.

However, the former Registrar, Katumba Ssentongo, grew suspicious and verified the documents with Mount Kenya University, which confirmed that they were indeed forged. Following this revelation, Taulula was apprehended after fleeing the scene. He was arrested from Kumi Health Centre IV and brought to Kampala to face justice.

Prosecutors also allege that during his time as a self-proclaimed doctor, Taulula performed medical operations that caused damage to women’s uteruses and led to the death of one woman. Investigations into these claims are still ongoing.

The investigation into the forgery of academic qualifications has been completed, and prosecutors have indicated they are ready to share the evidence with Taulula’s legal team for the trial. Taulula has been denied bail, and his case will return to court on November 21, 2024.

This is not an isolated case. Last week, the same court, presided over by Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko, remanded another man, Ken Nyombi, who is accused of forging a medical degree certificate from Makerere University, among other documents. Nyombi, who used several aliases, also faced charges of submitting forged documents for a position at the Ministry of Health.

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