Mike Ssegawa, I have read your defense of Ministers Balaam Barugahara and Justine Nameere carefully. I agree with you on one thing: Uganda desperately needs stronger action against corruption, absenteeism and poor service delivery. But I disagree that humiliating public servants is the kind of disruption our country needs.
As a health professional, I know the reality inside many government health facilities. Workers are dealing with overwhelming workloads, understaffing, medicine shortages, inadequate equipment, poor accommodation and limited resources. Many are exhausted, yet they continue serving patients because people depend on them.
This does not excuse corruption or deliberate absenteeism. Where there is wrongdoing, people must be held accountable. But they must first be heard, investigated and given a fair opportunity to explain themselves.
What concerns me most is the recording and sharing of confrontations on social media. An allegation is not proof. Social media is not a court of law. A minister is not a judge, and a public confrontation is not an investigation.
When a health worker is publicly embarrassed in front of patients and their image is shared widely before the facts are established, the damage to their dignity and reputation can be enormous.
And we must ask: What happens to the patient when the person serving them feels humiliated, threatened and abandoned?
To our health workers, teachers and other government workers: you are not forgotten. You are not all corrupt. You are not all lazy. Your work matters. Please do not abandon the people you serve because you have been mistreated. The patient did not create the shortage of medicines. The child did not create understaffing. Continue serving them while using lawful channels to defend your rights.
To Ministers Balaam and Nameere, I say this respectfully: your fight against corruption is necessary, but your approach matters. Before asking why a health worker is absent, ask why the facility is understaffed. Ask where the medicines are. Ask why there is no equipment. Ask who is responsible for the conditions under which these workers operate.
And Mike, I respectfully ask you: after the cameras are gone, what has actually changed?
Are there more medicines? More staff? Better facilities? Less corruption? Better services? Are patients benefiting?
Ugandans need more than dramatic inspections and social-media videos. We need solutions and measurable results.
Let us fight corruption without destroying dignity. Let us demand accountability without abandoning compassion.
A broken system needs reform—but reform must protect both the citizen who needs the service and the worker struggling to provide it.
Asia Namusoke Mbajja:
Health Professional, Social Justice & Human Rights Advocate | Massachusetts-licensed Life Insurance Producer | Executive Director, People In Need Agency (PINA Uganda)
The post ASIA NAMUSOKE: Accountability Without Humiliation: A Response to Mike Ssegawa appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.