Masaka Referral Hospital staff and mother, Robinah Katusime, have clashed over a missing newborn baby who disappeared from the hospital.

Katusime, 32, a resident of Mpugwe Trading Centre, Nyendo-Mukungwe division in Masaka district, said she went to two hospitals for four antenatal checkups and scans at Bulamu Medical Centre and Masaka General Hospital, which all confirmed she was carrying twins.

However, when she was admitted to Masaka Referral Hospital and had a C-section, the doctor only gave one baby to her caretaker, Hawa Namagembe.

’’I am not mad; I know what I am saying because I went to Bulamu Medical Centre three times for scanning, and the medic told me I was going to have twins. My last checkup was done at Masaka Referral Hospital, where the doctor too confirmed that I was going to give birth to twins, so I want my baby back,’’ Katusime disclosed.

During an interview on July 1, 2024, Namagembe (Katusime’s caretaker) said that Katusime was taken to the theatre, had a C-section, and a male obstetrician came and asked her for clothes for two babies. However, when the doctor came back from the theatre, he gave her only one baby.

Namagembe added that the new-born baby she was given was a girl; however, the boy was missing, and when she asked the obstetrician, he claimed that the other baby was dead.

’’I called Katusime’s husband and told her about what had happened, and when he came to the hospital, they told him that the other baby was dead, but no corpse was given to him,’’ Namagembe revealed.

On the other hand, Dr. Senyondo, the head of the maternity department at the hospital, said that Katusime gave birth to one child, and the scans might have been faulty. He added that the scan she did at Masaka Referral Hospital was done by an intern doctor and not a qualified radiographer.

’’There are seven witnesses who were in the theater, who confirm that Katusime gave birth to only one baby,’’ Dr. Senyondo stated.

The Greater Masaka police spokesperson, Twaha Kasirye, said they have taken statements from Katusime and the caretaker and are awaiting further instructions from the Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigations.