Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - September 24, 2002
Geoffrey Kamali
In Kampala, the Police have unearthed a racket which has stolen massive amounts of recently donated life support AIDS drugs.
The Diflucan tablets were for free distribution to poor HIV/AIDS patients. They were stolen from various health centres nationwide in collusion with health workers and passed on to private pharmacies and clinics for sale.
The main suspects are believed to be health workers entrusted with the administration of the drugs. Fifteen suspects have been arrested and will be charged this week.
The scam is suspected to have led to the deaths of hundreds of patients nationwide in the last seven months.
About 290,000 Diflucan tablets produced by giant US pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. were donated to Uganda in February. Each bottle contains 28 pink tablets and is clearly marked, "Donation Programme- Not For Sale. Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique and Rwanda are the beneficiaries of the programme.
The scam was first detected by Pfizer officials in Washington, who tipped off Kampala officials, sources said.
Diflucan is an effective treatment for two opportunistic infections, cryptococcal meningitis (swelling of the brain) and Oesphageal Candidiasis (infection of the throat), linked to the last stages of AIDS.
The former is said to occur in 10% of all AIDS patients and is fatal within days if untreated while the latter reportedly occurs in up to 40% of the patients. Health minister Brig. Jim Muhwezi told reporters at a press conference in Kampala on Friday that the drugs were distributed to 110 health facilities but were diverted by "some unscrupulous people."
Each tablet is sold for sh3,000 - 10,000. Muhwezi said, "This is very serious. It's a shame. It's scary to imagine what people out there (donors), who are concerned about our suffering, think what type of people we are."
When undercover detectives, led by anti-fraud squad chief Dennis Odongpiny, posed as buyers, they not only purchased a total of 106 tablets, but also arrested 15 suspects who were paraded before the press on Friday. The 18 bottles of the tablets seized from the suspects were also shown to reporters.
But one of the suspects, Robert Ssegawa, said, "They have arrested the wrong people. I can assure you that we are the small fish.
"We are sacrificial lambs. The big fish are still out there."
Ssegawa is proprietor of Recos Pharmacy in Kampala, one of the outlets where some of the drugs were seized.
Muhwezi said, "I am directing the National Drug Authority and professional councils to take appropriate action on pharmacies concerned, including disciplinary action on their owners."
The suspected pharmacies include Recos, Desire, Pharmatec, Mercy, Pharm Medic, Pelez-Ma and Duse, all in Kampala. Others are Mwesigwa and Amaph pharmacies in Jinja.
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