Uganda police have arrested Ronald Mutebi, a medical records assistant at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, over allegations of extortion.
Mutebi, who is attached to the Outpatient Department (OPD), has allegedly been soliciting money from patients, claiming it would be given to it to doctors to expedite service.
The Principal Administrator at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, Benzy Omoya, alleged that the victim would ask the patients to place money in their registration exercise books.
“This has been happening for some time now. We have been gathering information for a long time, and when we launched the investigation, it culminated in the arrest of Mutebi,” said Omoya.
Omoya said extortion had been reported in other departments other than the outpatient department.
He criticized the patients for failure to report such incidents, noting that victims often refuse to cooperate with investigation bodies.
“Services here in this hospital are free of charge unless you go to the private wing. In the general hospital, everything is free, and let nobody tell you otherwise,” Omoya urged the community.
Saiga Ibrahim, the East Kyoga Regional Police Commander, confirmed that Mutebi is currently in custody, and investigations into the alleged extortion are ongoing.
“After the investigation, we will send the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further advice on the matter,” Saiga stated.
