The National Drug Authority (NDA) has recovered more than 150,000 doses of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) during a special operation that resulted in the arrest of a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer and a nurse accused of diverting government medicines.
According to NDA spokesperson Abiaz Rwamwiri, Lance Corporal Jimmy Kisembo, a laboratory technician attached to Kabamba Health Centre IV in Mubende District, was apprehended at a private residence in Mpumudde Trading Centre, Sembabule District.
At the same location, enforcement teams seized 3,000 doses of anti-malarial drugs and 12,500 malaria testing kits, all marked “Government of Uganda – Not for Sale.” The authority said the medical supplies are believed to have been stolen from a military health facility.
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During the operation, Mayi Musoke, an enrolled nurse and officer-in-charge of Makore Health Centre II, was also arrested in connection with the incident.
Mr Rwamwiri noted that Kisembo is the second security officer to be implicated in drug theft this year, following a similar case involving a police officer earlier in 2025. He said the crackdown is part of the authority’s broader effort to stop the theft and black-market sale of government medicines.
Since 2019, the NDA’s enforcement operations have led to the arrest of over 60 suspects, including 40 government health workers, and the recovery of stolen medical supplies valued at more than Shs 13 billion, according to the authority.
The latest arrests follow the recent sentencing of Ronald Kibalye, a health worker from Kayunga Hospital, who received a four-year jail term for illegal possession of more than 64,000 doses of ARVs.
The two suspects are currently in police custody and are expected to face charges of illegal possession of government stores under Section 296(2) of the Penal Code Act, and illegal possession of classified drugs under Section 27(2) of the National Drug Policy and Authority Act.
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