Mulago Hospital Doctor Remanded Over Forgery

By Spurb Ernest

Prosecutors allege that Balondemu, Ssegujja, and others still at large, in 2023, knowingly and fraudulently created false medical documents, including a prescription form dated November 7, 2023, and a CT scan medical form dated June 12, 2023, at Kampala Hospital.

The Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has remanded Dr. Hassan Ssegujja, a medic at Mulago National Referral Hospital, on charges of forgery of medical documents. Ssegujja, a fugitive who had been on the run for over a year with a warrant of arrest issued for him, was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi on Tuesday. 

He denied the charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit a felony. Dr. Ssegujja is jointly charged with David Balondemu, the Chairperson of the Kampala District Land Board. Prosecutors allege that Balondemu, Ssegujja, and others still at large, in 2023, knowingly and fraudulently created false medical documents, including a prescription form dated November 7, 2023, and a CT scan medical form dated June 12, 2023, at Kampala Hospital.

The forgery case arose when Balondemu, who was facing charges of obtaining over 2 billion shillings through false pretense from an American firm, KG Unlimited LLC, applied for bail. As part of his bail application, Balondemu presented documents claiming he was scheduled for surgery at Kampala Hospital. 

The prosecution, led by State Attorney Ivan Kyazze, sought to verify the authenticity of the documents. Upon investigation, Kampala Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter Kibuuka, confirmed that Balondemu had never been a patient at the hospital and that no surgery was scheduled for him. 

“According to our records, Mr. Balondemu has never been a patient at Kampala Hospital. There is no scheduled TURP surgery for him on November 22, 2022, as indicated in the letter dated November 7, 2023. Therefore, the documents in question, dated June 12, 2023, and November 7, 2023, were not authored by Kampala Hospital,” Kibuuka stated in a letter to the Director of CID, Kibuuli. 

Further investigations revealed that Dr. Ssegujja had allegedly forged the medical documents, indicating that Balondemu required urgent medical attention and a CT scan. As a result, charges of forgery were brought against both Dr. Ssegujja and Balondemu. 

While Balondemu had been previously charged and granted bail, Dr. Ssegujja had evaded arrest until now. Dr. Ssegujja was remanded until March 17, 2025, for a bail hearing. State Attorney Viola Tusingwire informed the Court that the delays in the case were due to Ssegujja’s disappearance, but the prosecution is now ready to proceed with the trial. The case has been adjourned to April 2, 2025, for hearing to commence.