THOMAS Fuller, an African shipped to America as a slave in 1724 may have died several centuries ago but one of his phrases or idioms, “…a stitch in time saves nine”, first recorded in 1732 remains more relevant to our modern times by its real meaning that it is better to act or deal with problems immediately, because if you wait and deal with them later, things will get worse and the consequences detrimental.
Activities came to a standstill at the Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH) where health workers went on a peaceful sit down strike protesting at the stinking level of impunity being exhibited by a handful of greedy and selfish individuals purporting to represent the Muslim Community over a stretch of land near the hospital and the Muslim Cemetery.
With placards, leaves, jerrycans and drums plus anything beatable (drumable), the nurses, midwives, clinical officers, laboratory technologists and doctors alongside support workers engaged in erotic dances to the amusement of patients and onlookers.
Though peaceful in the protests, the health workers were not only amusing but annoyingly provocative to the mean-looking personnel of Field Force Unit (FFU) also known as anti riot police.
The fact that the protests turned out to be more of a drama disarmed the police commanded by the DPC Innocent Mubangizi who kept smiling and frowning at the same time on how, especially the female health workers, were flashing him with their dance strokes.
The situation almost degenerated into chaos when one errant and trigger-happy anti riot personnel fired two tear gas shots into the air, attracting a near beating from the furious Mubangizi who acted quickly by pushing him out of the hospital gate.
“…are you mad who gave you the order to shoot, what’s wrong with you, get out of this place you man are you normal…”,the DPC who was transferred from Oyam District a few months ago was heard shouting at his errant personnel.
After nearly seven hours, the Jinja City Security Committee consisting of the RCC Darius Nandinda as the chairperson arrived at the hospital where the workers demanded that their colleagues who were arrested and locked up at the CPS on the order of Mubangizi first be set free before they can listen to anybody.
Indeed the RPC Rogers Sseguya responded in the affirmative and the five were set free unconditionally to the applause of the charged health workers.
In an address, the RCC Darius Nandinda read out key resolutions of the Security Committee Meeting that no more activity, including the illegal construction of a perimeter wall takes place on the disputed site until a clear legal status is resolved.
It was also announced that no more Friday Juma prayers should take place the way some group of Muslims had started as a way of intimidation.
It was also announced that a Court Order has been issued and is being pursued through the relevant channels which will eventually reach the desk of the Acting IGP who will instruct the police in Jinja to act accordingly.
However the health workers through their representative Milton Mwisaka had no kind words for the RCC, RPC and DPC, among others for their alleged naivety on the matter.
“…how do you wait to deploy heavily at the hospital where we are simply making a peaceful statement when you have been supporting the illegal activities on the land where you and your relatives will seek services…”, Mwisaka roared.
In a veiled attack at one of the unnamed Muslim tycoons accused of being behind the land saga, the health workers dug deeper into their psychology of Human Nature to use the word “Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)” to describe the group causing the confusion.
According to the dictionary, NPD is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance or ego.
People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others but they need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them.
Some critics have blamed the health workers for opting out of the wards to participate in what they call a useless protest saying even if the land was for the hospital; it does not belong to the medical staff.
“…you are employed and deployed by the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health that can transfer you to another facility, so why abandon the patients to seek cheap popularity…” some people were overheard complaining.
What You Need To Know:
The Land in question FRV 204 Folio 24 out of Plot 31-39 Nile Avenue measures 1.862 acres.
saga that has been in place for nearly 20 years as an active volcano, erupted on 12 March, 2024 when the Minister of State for Lands Dr Samuel Mayanja made a verbal pronouncement handing over the land to the Muslim Community.
The Minister does not have any legal power to allocate land and it’s the reason Dr Samuel Mayanja later wrote requesting the ULC Acting Secretary Andrew Nyumba to handle the matter.
The pronouncement which was widely viewed as mere political oratory was made against a High Court ruling in favor of the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) which has JRRH as the user department.
The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) did not appeal against the ruling which also slapped costs.
While the UMSC claims that the same ULC created the whole mess by allocating the land to them with minutes, the purported allocation was never concluded.
The Muslim Community in Jinja acted with impunity by starting the construction of the perimeter wall even without any approval from Jinja City Council under the guise that they are fed up with every other persons or offices.
The ULC leadership has organized a stakeholders meeting this Wednesday 17th March, 2024 at the Commission’s boardroom in Kampala.
The First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga who is also the Kamuli District Woman MP has also written giving her opinion on the matter.
Others who have also written include Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng who asked the Attorney General Alex Kiryowa Kiwanuka Nsumikambi Mugambe to ensure the court ruling is respected for the Hospital to carry out its expansion programmes to enhance service delivery.
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