By Maria Mariam Namala
MITYANA. A 70-year-old retired orthopaedic practitioner has been arrested in Mityana after police, acting on intelligence concerning alleged illegal abortions at his residence.
Detectives recovered remains of five fresh human foetuses from a bucket during a search at his home in Busimbi Division.
The suspect, identified as Mr Samuel Madaaba, was arrested on Monday after information reaching police indicated that he had allegedly been conducting abortions from his home in Gombolola Cell, Busimbi Division, Mityana Municipality, prompting detectives to mount an intelligence-led operation in which the residence was cordoned off and formally documented as a scene of crime.
During the subsequent search, the scene-of-crime officers recovered what police described as five fresh human foetuses concealed in a bucket, alongside a blood-stained old mattress, medical instruments and other items that detectives have since taken as exhibits to aid their investigations.
Wamala Regional Police spokesperson, Lameck Kigozi, said the operation followed information that Mr Madaaba had been involved in what police suspect to be the unlawful termination of pregnancies, adding that the discovery of the foetuses had heightened the seriousness of the investigation.
“During the search, we found five foetuses that had been aborted and stored in a bucket. It is shocking and worrying. It is bad and concerning,” Mr Kigozi said.
Following the discovery, police arrested Mr Madaaba’s wife, who was at the residence, while two other people who were also found at the premises were questioned as investigators sought to establish the circumstances under which the alleged abortions were being conducted and the extent to which other people may have been involved.
Police said statements from witnesses have since been recorded, while the suspect and his wife remain in custody as the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) processes the case file for further legal action.
Mr Kigozi said police, while examining Mr Madaaba’s academic and professional records, established that he had trained and worked as an orthopaedic practitioner before retiring from government service about a decade ago. Despite his retirement, however, police allege that he continued engaging in medical-related activities at his home, where some residents had come to know him as a person who offered dental and other forms of treatment.
“As we continued with the investigations, we found some of the instruments this man was using. Even if you are not a medical practitioner, you can tell that some of these instruments are used for extracting teeth or treating eyes. But the only activity we found being carried out here was abortion, something we all know is illegal and not allowed in the country,” Mr Kigozi said.
The police spokesperson said the case file would be forwarded to the State Attorney for sanctioning, with investigators considering charges arising from the alleged conduct, including procuring an abortion, infanticide, conspiracy to commit abortion and aiding or abetting the alleged offence, among others.
The development has, meanwhile, sparked concern among residents in the area, some of whom condemned the alleged practice and questioned how a retired medical practitioner could have continued providing medical services outside the established regulatory framework.
Other residents, while condemning abortion, attributed some of the circumstances that drive women to seek the procedure to men who impregnate them and subsequently refuse to assume responsibility for the pregnancies, leaving women to bear the social and economic consequences largely on their own.
Mr Kigozi cautioned private medical practitioners against engaging in activities that contravene established medical procedures and regulations, warning that those found operating outside the law would be held accountable.
Police also urged sexually active adults who are not prepared to have children to adopt recognised family planning methods, saying preventing unintended pregnancies remains preferable to resorting to unlawful procedures.