KABALE DISTRICT: 10 February 2026— In a move that has sent shockwaves through the medical community in Western Uganda, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala, has ordered the immediate arrest of a nurse at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital.
The suspect, identified as Mr. Tumuheki Nicholas, an enrolled nurse, is accused of gross professional negligence and inhumane treatment of a patient in the hospital’s casualty ward.
The directive was issued during an unannounced spot check at the facility, which marked the beginning of the IGG’s Regional Office tour. The details emerging from the investigation are distressing:
Neglect of Critical Patient: A patient referred from Kamwezi Health Centre IV was reportedly left “profusely bleeding.”
Lack of Beds: It is alleged that Tumuheki instructed the patient’s caregiver to lay the patient on the floor. His reported justification was that the hospital had not been notified in advance to prepare a bed.
Unaccounted Medicines: The caregiver was allegedly told the hospital had no supplies and was sent to a nearby private pharmacy to buy medicine. However, the caregiver reports that despite purchasing the drugs, Tumuheki never administered them to the patient.
Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala’s intervention comes at a time when public outcry over the state of regional referral hospitals is at an all-time high. By ordering an immediate arrest rather than a mere administrative inquiry, the IGG is signaling a “zero-tolerance” policy toward the mistreatment of vulnerable citizens.
”The Inspectorate of Government is committed to ensuring that public officers serve with integrity. We cannot allow those entrusted with the lives of Ugandans to treat them with such callousness,” a source within the IGG’s office noted during the tour.
Mr. Tumuheki is expected to face charges related to neglect of duty and potentially other offenses pending a full investigation into the “missing” medicines. The IGG’s tour of the Kabale Regional Office continues, with more inspections expected in the Kigezi sub-region.
