NDA Arrests Four Over Theft of Government Drugs

What the report says

The National Drug Authority has arrested four people in connection with the alleged theft and illegal sale of government medicines, including large quantities of antiretroviral drugs, in an operation that began in Luweero District and extended to Kisaasi in Kampala. According to the Nile Post report, the suspects include two people linked to Luweero General Hospital, among them a medical professional and a security operative, while two others were described as siblings involved in storing, moving and selling the medicines.

The NDA said its investigators had been tracking reports that drugs were being diverted from the hospital after complaints about shortages. The operation recovered about 120,000 doses of ARVs, along with maternity kits, syringes and boxes of examination gloves. Officials said the items carried Government of Uganda markings, suggesting they were public supplies not meant for private sale. The authority also said some of the recovered ARVs had expired.

NDA spokesperson Abiaz Rwamwiri said the alleged diversion could deny patients access to treatment and create safety risks if medicines are stored outside proper conditions. The suspects were taken to Wandegeya Police Station and remain in custody as investigations continue, with charges expected over theft and illegal distribution of government drugs.

The case fits a wider effort by the NDA to curb diversion of public medicines. The authority said its enforcement work since 2019 has intercepted medicines worth an estimated Shs28 billion and led to arrests and prosecutions of healthcare workers in similar cases. The Ministry of Health is also reviewing controls over medical stores and accountability systems for government medicines.