The Kampala High Court has held Mulago National Referral hospital liable for the loss of a baby delivered within its premises.
Justice Phillip Odoki who presided over the civil division of the high court ordered that the national hospital pays Fatumah Nakayima, 47, compensation of Shs50 million for the psychological trauma regarding the
disappearance of her baby.
“Ms Nakayima Fatumah suffered terrible psychological torture which affected her mental well-being and was a violation of her right to health because all her efforts to secure her baby after delivery, dead or alive were not successful. She was so restless, had to report to the police for help and even went to the mortuary but all in vain,” Justice Odoki ruled.
caesarean section.Upon gaining her consciousness, news of the loss of her allegedly baby boy was broken to her claiming how the 3.5 kg had lost its life shortly after birth, however with no traces of the baby or its body and has since faced her ordeal.
Nakayima, not able to conceive again having damaged her uterus recalls spending almost a week in the hospital recording enormous statements, something she described as that which put her under much pressure that at one time walked out on officers the ordeal of going into the hospital with the promise of coming out with a life after nine months of carrying a pregnancy also kept Nakayima’s husband at a distance having accused her of giving his child to another family.
“I am so grateful for the justice …Many said that I couldn’t battle with the government, but I kept my hopes up and said to myself l will go through with my case and will win. i am thankful to God and the Center for Health Human Rights and Development they have fought for me,” she said.
Adding how the ruling could come as comfort especially that no amount of money could settle the pain of lossing her child.
Dorothy Amuron, acting deputy executive director programmes CEHURD noted that cases of such nature continued to happen on a daily basis however there were always those that were exceptional and went beyond the trauma and even ruined families.
Amuron noted that while the right to maternal health and care was recognized in the Constitution and different instruments, a lot of women in different facilities continued to come out empty handed and having no answers as to what happened to their babies in that delicate state.
“Nakayima here today is just not a single person that you’re seeing here, she is a voice that is representing the bigger numbers out there that have probably not made it to hospitals or whose cases have not come before our attention probably because they are not even privileged to afford means of transport to seek some legal remedies, Amuron said adding, therefore whats so unique about this ruling besides the cases of failure to handle basic maternal commodities, to negligence was to show case honestly that when maternal cases are handled they go beyond a loss of a baby to trauma that take years or even never heals.
Mrs Jane Namaganda, program officer startegic litigation CEHURD noted that a systematic change to the point of government and private facilities under the ministry of health being alive to monitoring health facilities to ensure that they’re cameras , proper data and records so that its easier to trace encase of an emergency and ensure safety in health facilities, today its maternal related issue of a missing baby tomorrow its rape and it has happened
