Police opens investigations into alleged organ harvesting at Old Kampala hospital

Kabanda says he inquired from the doctor why his belly had been cut and he was told that the doctor needed to get some flesh to use on his face above the eyes. Kabanda, who walks around with threads on his forehead, says that he had been asked to return to the hospital on October 10, 2022, but feared to do so because of what had happened to him.

On Thursday, Kabanda and relatives went to Old Kampala police station to see the officer in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The CID officer sent them, in the company of another police officer to the police surgeon for examination.

They were first told they would see the surgeon at a health centre in Kabalagala but they were later asked to go to Mulago City Mortuary where they met Dr Richard Ambayo, a police surgeon who interviewed the patient for about 20 minutes. He later referred Kabanda to either Kampala Imaging Center or Mulago hospital to take an abdominal-pelvis CT scan and a brain CT scan.

The doctor wanted the scans performed and a doctor's opinion on whether the left kidney was initially not there or that a medical procedure was done to remove it.

“Furnish us with a report and your opinion on whether there was the congenital absence of left kidney or nephrectomy was performed,” wrote Dr Ambayo.

Kabanda and his family then moved to Kampala Imaging Center along George street in Kampala from where the patient was asked to go to any laboratory and run abdominal tests. The patient would later go to either Mulago hospital or return to Kampala Imaging Center for the abdominal pelvic CT scan and the brain CT scan.

Despite the persistent allegations, the Association of Ugandan Surgeons was quick to dismiss the allegations saying organ harvesting is practically impossible in Uganda given the lack of expertise and facilities needed to execute the delicate procedure.