Health monitoring unit busts medicine theft ring (2025)

• A recent audit by the State House Health Monitoring Unit exposed a suspected theft ring involving health workers in Bukedea District.
• The findings, officials said, point to a deeply rooted system of theft and negligence that is not just draining resources but endangering lives.

In the dusty corridors of Malera Health Centre III in Bukedea District in Teso Sub-region, patients wait for help that often never comes. Mothers clutch sick children. The elderly queue silently. But behind the scenes, a hidden crisis has stolen their chance at recovery.

A recent audit by the State House Health Monitoring Unit (HMU) exposed a theft ring involving health workers in Bukedea District.

According to investigations conducted by HMU, the accused health workers and others at large have been diverting government drugs and supplies meant for public use. Four health worker have been arrested.

The findings, officials said, point to a deeply rooted system of theft and negligence that is not just draining resources but endangering lives.

The arrests followed a surprise audit at Malera Health Centre III, where HMU officials uncovered alarming inconsistencies between recorded inventory and actual stock on the ground. Staff initially claimed that limited storage space had forced them to keep supplies off-site, but according to HMU investigators, this explanation collapsed under scrutiny.

Dr Jerome Mpaata Owagage, the assistant director of HMU, said: “We conducted an audit at Malera Health Centre III and discovered that some medical supplies, including 12 boxes of testing kits and other laboratory materials, were missing.”

Dr Mpaata said the HMU team gave the health workers a one-day ultimatum to return the missing items. However, when the HMU team returned, they discovered that the health workers had transferred medical supplies from the neighbouring Kabarwa Health Centre III to Malera Health Centre III in an apparent attempt to cover up the loss.

He told Daily Monitor that upon inspection, the HMU team discovered the batch numbers on the purportedly returned supplies belonged to stock meant for Kabarwa Health Centre III, not Malera Health Centre III. He said the HMU team immediately conducted an audit at Kabarwa Health Centre III and found that its store had been emptied, with critical supplies, including Determine test kits, transferred to Malera Health Centre III.

As a result, four health workers; two officers in-charge, and two storekeepers from both facilities were arrested and detained at Bukedea Central Police Station. He said the suspects would be charged in court. According to Dr Mpaata, two staff members from Malera Health Centre III will face charges of abuse of office and embezzlement under the Anti-Corruption Act.

Meanwhile, the staff from Kabarwa Health Centre III are expected to be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Bukedea, Mr Wilberforce Tukei, condemned the theft of government medical supplies, stating that such actions are unacceptable.

"Our role now is to ensure that anyone involved is held accountable and that no one acts outside the guidelines. We cannot allow this to continue happening," he added. This is not the first time government health facilities have come under fire for missing drugs.

Across Uganda, similar incidents have been reported, raising concerns about weak oversight, underpaid staff, and growing corruption in the public health sector.

Ms Juliet Aluka, a human rights activist, expressed concern over the persistent issue of drug theft in public health facilities, calling it one of the most pressing challenges the government must urgently address. “Drug theft is a major problem that the government needs to fight seriously.

Combating this vice across the country is difficult because some health workers have devised new ways to cover their tracks. I’ve been informed that some in-charges of health facilities, drug storekeepers, and dispensers often connive to forge signatures and divert drugs to private clinics,” Ms Aluka said.

She added that these practices have led to frequent gaps in accountability for drugs delivered to government facilities, adding that the problem has persisted for years.

Drug theft in Uganda

The Inspectorate of Government (IGG) has highlighted the pervasive issue of drug theft in Uganda’s public health facilities, identifying it as a significant form of corruption that undermines the healthcare system and endangers public health.

According to the IGG’s 2021 report, theft or embezzlement of medicines and equipment is the most common form of corruption in Uganda’s healthcare sector. This widespread malpractice leads to the diversion of essential drugs from public health facilities to private clinics or unauthorised markets, depriving patients of treatment.

The State House Health Monitoring Unit was established to tackle such cases, and their audit in Bukedea is part of a broader campaign to clean up the public health sector. But the road ahead remains long and difficult.