Reign of Terror
Another incident I know about concerned one of Uganda’s only two qualified pharmacologists. Dr. Mawcrere. On August 5, 1976, Dr. Mawerere was in the doctors’ club near Mulago Hospital, when one of Amin’s Nubian thugs from the Military Police came in. He demanded that the club sell him huge quantities of beer and cigarettes.
Dr. Mawerere ordered the intruder to leave. The thug, in retaliation, struck him down and kicked him, breaking his jaw and knocking him unconscious. He then fled. Dr. Mawerere was taken at once to the hospital and given medical treatment. His colleagues reported the beating to the police, but the police took no action. The thug had meanwhile gone back to the Military Police, and complained that he had been insulted by the doctor. The following day, the Military Police sent in a unit to arrest the doctor, who was still only semiconscious—he had clips in his jaw and was incapable of speech. 1 wfas infuriated beyond measure when I heard what was happening. I drove straight to the hospital, walked up to the ward (6C) and found half-a-dozen military men with automatic rifles guarding Dr. Mawerere’s bed. The doctors and other staff gathered around and asked me how they could be expected to work when one of their profession was being humiliated in this fashion. With some difficulty. I persuaded them not to walk out but to allow me to see what could be done.
Seething with anger. I walked downstairs to the office, telephoned Amin and told him, “I cannot have the army coming to arrest people who are unconscious, let alone a doctor in the hospital, and still expect other doctors to work. It is inhuman.” In normal circumstances 1 would not have allowed my anger to run away with me in this way. Fortunately, Amin did not take offense. He had clearly been informed of the situation in advance because he refused to see its urgency. He pointed out that doctors should not be above the law. I agreed but added. “If Dr. Mawerere has broken the law, then the arrest should be properly conducted.”
After a few days, the troops were withdrawn and the patient left to recover in peace. Dr. Mawerere later fled the country, as did the other pharmacologist, Dr. Anakabong. Now, Uganda has none.
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