A Letter To Gravity Omutujju

Dear Gravity,
Thanks for your Busabala hospital fundraising. Thank you for your donation of love, time, and a big part of your life and identity to those who are suffering. Anybody who gives is donating a blessing, anybody would be blessed to receive. What you are doing is nothing short of amazing. You're tactically exposing the healthy inadequacies in the country, and I really hope something good comes out of your efforts. Its unfortunate that some people are only looking at this as a Bobi Vs Gravity issue.

I really appreciate when people fight for specific causes, and I am sure many others in society feel the same way.

It's sad that some Nupians have insulted your mother, too. Who knows why people say such crazy things? Please take the insults like a champ. Responding with insults or offensive language will only escalate the situation and diminish your credibility.

Not sure what those criticising you their issues are; they might be having really bad days (or life). In any case your spirit is just great. Keep ignoring those who try to put you down and appreciate those who lift you up. Many people live in bubbles and cannot perceive anything or anyone beyond their small lives.

There are a total of 533 Hospitals and 6,937 health facilities in Uganda as of January 09, 2024, but most of them aren’t really equipped enough to help our people. That’s why most of our rich end up going abroad for treatment. The 17 Regional Referral Hospitals (RRHs) and 62 are General Hospitals (GHs) were mostly built during Obote’s leadership, but they look terrible.

Mulago Hospital which was built in 1962 could have been competing with the likes of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, but its now a death trap for Ugandans. South Africa stands out as one of the top African countries in terms of doctor education and healthcare offerings mainly because the government allocates an impressive 8.58% of their GDP to healthcare, prioritizing education, and practical training.

One of the reasons why Ugandans in diaspora are afraid of permanently settling back home is because of bad healthcare. Here, in the UK, the government’s NHS is so far better than any system in Africa.

I was watching a documentary on TV in the UK called ‘Your Life in their Hands’. A 14-year-old boy had a very aggressive non-malignant tumour right in the centre of his brain. The specialists said that he would be dead in 3 months and that 5 years ago there would have been absolutely nothing they could have done. A massive team of top neurosurgeons, anaesthetists and theatre technicians/nurses performed a 48-hour operation, yes 48 hours, and it was quite simply one of the most amazing things I've ever seen human's do. The boy thankfully survived and is apparently doing really well. Imagine trying to get a Ugandan doctor to exactly that!

In the same series there was a man that had an aneurysm on his aorta. He was told in no uncertain terms that he could literally drop dead at any minute or had the choice of a possible life saving operation that was very, very risky. He chose the operation. Sadly, he died on the operating table, and you could see in every single one of the operating theatre staff that they were absolutely gutted, and some were in tears. I don't think people quite ‘get it’ that to these incredible people it's way, way more than just a job.

UK doctors are so much respected in the world, especially in the USA. UK doctors do not have to retrain in the USA, but they need to successfully pass a battery of licensing exams, then endure a long residency at a hospital. It is equally rigorous going to the UK, just different types of requirements.

In all seriousness, I have great respect for the Uganda doctors but most of them have let down a lot of people through wrong diagnosis and all sorts of things.

BTW, is there a way you can drop the stage name " omutujju"? It sounds bad, like, someone intentionally hurting others. Otherwise, thanks for exposing the hypocrisy of Bobi Wine, too. I hope you finally get land where a good hospital will be built,inishallah!