A 27-year old bar attendant who was working with Choice Club in Wakiso is currently confined in her bed at home and completely run down with no money to buy food, pay rent, replenish her drug stock or pay school fees for her three dependent learners.
Rehema Namuddu is currently under the care of her mother Sylvia Namatovu at the former’s rented two-roomed house at Namubiru village in Nama sub-county in the outskirts of Mukono town. Namuddu met her ordeal in July 2024 while seated in the compound of her workplace in Wakiso.
She spent three months in Mulago National Referral Hospital where she underwent a major surgery which rendered her paralysed from the lower abdomen down to the legs. She currently needs support to sit or go outside to answer nature’s call or shower.
UMEME workers who visited her days after she had been discharged from Mulago admitted they were the ones at fault as the pole had been eaten by termites, and advanced her with sh1.5m for her immediate treatment.
She says that the UMEME officials promised to provide her with more financial assistance on acquisition of a medical doctor’s report and payment receipts she accrued as she paid for medication at Mulago.
According to Namuddu, both were acquired and given to her bar Manager identified as Siraje who volunteered to deliver the assistance from UMEME.
Namuddu’s mother Sylvia Namatovu said they have finished sh3.8m which they got as proceeds from sale of her piece of land in Lwengo district, and that for close to a month now, the patient has not taken a single pill as there is no money to replenish the drug stock.
When this reporter visited, the family were in a state of unrest and confusion as that day was the deadline given to them by the landlord to vacate his house following an unpaid arrears of sh360,000 due for three months.
Three children prematurely dropped out of school last year before completing P.2, P.7 and S.2 when Namuddu who was paying their school fees sustained a broken spinal cord and was rendered jobless.
Namuddu says that her biological 8-year-old daughter, Marie Barbie Nakivumbi who was in Primary Two also ended school last year in August prematurely.
Nakivumbi appealed to good hearted people to come to her mother’s rescue so that she gets well and resumes educating them.
They alleged that the S.2 drop out has since found casual employment in a Vaseline packing factory to supplement the family’s meals, while the 14-year-old P.7 drop out is all alone at her grandmother’s home in Lwengo looking after her goats and chicken.
The two were considering instructing lawyers to sue UMEME for failure to meet their compensation obligations to Namuddu who got in the accident as a result of their own negligence.
When contacted for a comment, Peter Kaujju, the UMEME spokesperson said he had not received any matter in regards to Namuddu’s issues.
Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo Bans ULS President Ssemakadde From Speaking at Any Judiciary Function
Kaujju however committed to contact the UMEME officials from Wakiso for the details and get back to our reporter.
After some hours, he called back saying; “I want to confirm that we know about the unfortunate incident of Rehema that happened in July. UMEME’s Insurance Service provider is running with the compensation procedure to support her. There was a bit of delay in documentation but the good news is that it is almost concluded. Our sincere focus on ensuring that she gets the due support.”
When called before publishing the story, Namuddu acknowledged that after our reporter engaged UMEME’s PRO, Kaujju, she started getting phone calls from people who introduced themselves to her as UMEME officials and promised to help her get the required assistance that will land her the required compensation.
Namuddu and her mother made a desperate appeal to Good Samaritans to come to their rescue to help her regain her limbs, and in effect be able to begin work as she was the sole breadwinner for both her mother and the three children under her care. They gave a mobile number 0753 854 502 in the name of Geoffrey Matovu for any financial assistance.