Attack opens old wounds at Bwera hospital
An injured man is treated at a local clinic after an attack in Mpondwe, Uganda, on June 17, 2023 at Lhubiriha Secondary School in Kasese District. PHOTO/ AFP
What you need to know:
- The inferno at Lhubiriha Secondary School left a much bigger body count, including—by press time—37 students; 20 of whom are female.
Like most hospitals in Uganda, Bwera General Hospital’s exterior belies the burdens that weigh down its shoulders.
Perched on the leafy Kanyabutundu Hill, the hospital overlooks Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Town centre.
Inside its precincts, one can catch a glimpse of the town centre’s sweeping lawns and landscaped vistas.
There was, however, little or nothing soft on the eye as the wailing of the hospital’s only ambulance cut into Kasese’s soul.
Located just about five kilometres from the Uganda-Congo border, Kasese District’s main hospital was a hive of activity yesterday after the raid on Lhubiriha Secondary School.
The hospital is familiar with the scale of damage that can take centre-stage when an inferno sweeps through.
Last May, two occupants in an ambulance attached to the hospital died on the spot when it burst into flames at Yerya in Kibito Sub-county on Fort Portal-Kasese Road in Bunyangabu District.
The inferno at Lhubiriha Secondary School left a much bigger body count, including—by press time—37 students; 20 of whom are female.
At the hospital’s morgue, with the stench of death hanging heavy, 18 of the 25 corpses conveyed to it were identified.
Seven others, Mr Clarence Bwambale Mumbahya—the hospital administrator—told Monitor, were “burnt beyond recognition.”
Among the dead identified was the school’s guard who was no match for the suspected Allied Democratic Forces or ADF rebels.
“Those injured are five and we are looking for means of transporting them for further management because one is supposed to be quickly rushed to Kiruddu Hospital while the two need to be taken for CT scan, a service we don’t have,” Mr Mumbahya revealed yesterday.
At least 20 bodies were conveyed to Bwera General Hospital.
The hospital staff tried—unsuccessfully—to save five people who were wheeled into their facility in a critical condition.
“We had a critical shortage of blood, and that’s why some died,” Mr Mumbahya disclosed, adding that most of the patients “had lost much blood by the time we rushed to get assistance from Kagando Hospital.”
