Mulago National Referral Hospital is grappling with a growing network of impostors posing as medical staff and extorting money from vulnerable patients and their families.
On a recent evening in the Acute Children’s Emergency Ward, a woman known to patients as “Dr. Atieno” sat behind a desk with a blood pressure cuff around her neck, presenting herself as a clinician. To anxious parents, she appeared to offer help. To hospital security, she was an impostor.
Penina Atieno, who has no medical training, was arrested alongside an alleged accomplice, Ivan Kamya, who was intercepted in the dental unit. Authorities say Kamya had been charging illegal “consultation fees” for services that are officially free, and was caught with cash from a patient attendant who raised the alarm.
Hospital officials say such cases point to a wider problem. A staff member familiar with the hospital’s CCTV operations, speaking on condition of anonymity, described an entrenched “underground economy” that allows unauthorized individuals to access wards and target patients.
Despite a ban on hawkers, unauthorized people continue to enter the hospital, allegedly facilitated by informal payments. “Each hawker who enters has to give the guards 4,000 shillings daily,” the staff member said, alleging weak enforcement and slow response to reported misconduct.
The scale and complexity of Mulago, Uganda’s largest public hospital, make it difficult to monitor all entry points, creating opportunities for fraud. Impostors often convince patients that unofficial payments are required to access doctors, speed up services, or obtain medication.
Anne Birungi experienced this firsthand after bringing her injured father to the hospital. She said she paid 22,000 shillings to a man in a clinical coat who promised to call a doctor. “My father was in pain, and we needed help urgently,” she said. “He told me a small fee would bring the doctor back. I even gave him airtime.” The man disappeared, and Birungi later discovered the doctor had been on duty all along.
Hospital spokesperson Gladys Baligonzaki Kajura acknowledged an increase in such incidents and said several suspects have been arrested in collaboration with security teams. She urged patients to remain vigilant and report suspicious individuals.
Kajura said the hospital has established a Patient Self-Care Desk to guide patients on available services and clarify that many treatments are provided free of charge.
Atieno and Kamya were taken to Wandegeya Police Station and are expected to appear in court on charges related to extortion.
Hospital officials say efforts are ongoing to tighten security and protect patients, but acknowledge that tackling the problem will require sustained enforcement and greater public awareness.
