Doctors and family members close to fallen former security minister Gen Elly Tumwine have revealed that Gen Elly Tumwine Tuhirirwe had refused to be flown to Nairobi, Kenya for specialized and better treatement at the Aga Khan Hospital.
Tumwine had been treated at Nakasero Hospital and at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, with a team of specialist doctors working on his condition for nearly two years since December 2020 when he first presented with symptoms that were later confirmed to be cancer.
According to Dr Abrahams Omoding, a personal doctor and one of the many that were handling Gen Tumwine’s condition, the general did not want to be treated outside Uganda since this, in his view, would be contrary to the kind of patriotism he had cherished all his life and had been preaching.
Omoding, a consultant oncologist at Mulago Hospital, noted that Gen Tumwine did not only want to be treated in Uganda but also wanted to be handled by Ugandan doctors, believing they had the capacity, skill, knowledge and experience to deal with his condition.
In Omoding’s view, they had never seen such a patriotic man like Gen Tumwine who believed that even senior government and military officials of his level and rank should be treated in the country, instead of being flown abroad where a lot of money is spent.
“Gen Tumwine was a patriotic man. It took us a lot of effort to convince him to take him out of the country. He wanted to be treated in Uganda, by Ugandan doctors. We had not seen such a senior citizen who was not willing to go out of the country for treatment,” added Omoding.
But as Gen Tumwine’s situation worsened, doctors as well as family members and friends such as Enos Tumusiime managed to convince him to accept to be airlifted to Nairobi for treatment. While there, his situation would worsen, and the general suffered a cardiac arrest from which doctors were unable to revive him.
Gen Tumwine becomes the second high profile Ugandan government official to have at first refused to be rushed out of the country for treatment. Months ago, it emerged that former Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah had refused to be taken to America for treatment.
One of his friends, Chief Justice Owiny Dollo, revealed that one day he found Oulanyah singing funeral songs. (Read Story Here).
Meanwhile, the doctors have released their report, detailing how Gen Tumwine fell sick in December 2020 and how he died. (Read Story Here).
You can also read what Gen Elly Tumwine’s children said about their father, including how the general’s last 14 days on earth were like hell fire, Here.
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