Penina Atieno, the woman allegedly impersonating medics at Mulago (Mulago ICT Photo).Mulago National Referral Hospital is struggling to dismantle a predatory web of extortionists who have infiltrated the facility, posing as medical staff to fleece desperate patients and their families.On a quiet Wednesday evening in the Acute Children’s Emergency Ward, a woman known as “Dr. Atieno” sat behind a desk, a blood pressure cuff draped around her neck. To the frantic parents in line, she was a lifeline; to the security team that eventually apprehended her, she was a “wolf in a white coat.”Penina Atieno, an impersonator with no medical training, is a former hawker who allegedly exploited the chaos of the hospital to solicit bribes. Her arrest coincided with that of an accomplice, Ivan Kamya, who was intercepted in the dental unit.Kamya was allegedly running a “consultation fee” racket, charging patients for services and medications that are, by law, free of charge. He was caught red-handed with UGX 10,000 taken from an attendant who became suspicious and alerted authorities.Ivan Kamya, another hawker reportedly impersonating doctors at Mulago Hospital. (Mulago ICT Photo).The rot, however, may go deeper than individual conmen. A whistleblower within the hospital’s CCTV unit suggests a systemic “underground economy” involving the very guards hired to protect the premises.Despite a management ban on hawkers, unauthorized individuals flood the wards daily. The whistleblower alleges a “pay-to-play” scheme in the hospital that has continued to allow space for extortion to thrive in the hospital.“Each hawker who enters has to give the guards 4,000 shillings daily,” an officer revealed speaking on condition of anonymity. “This is the business guards are doing. I report it to managers, but the response is always: “We shall handle it.”The officer describes a climate of impunity so bold that middlemen have reportedly fought over “territory” within the Casualty and Assignment centers.The complexity of Uganda’s premier public hospital makes it fertile ground for scammers as impersonators convince families that “facilitation fees” are the only way to bypass long queues or reach specialists.Anne Birungi, who rushed her father to Mulago after an accident, fell victim to such a scheme. She paid UGX 22,000 to a man in a clinical coat who promised to call back a doctor.“My father was in pain; we needed help urgently,” Birungi recalled. “He told me the doctor was out of the unit but a small transport fee would bring him back. I even gave him airtime to make the call.” She eventually found the actual doctor on duty, only to realize the “facilitator” had vanished.Gladys Baligonzaki Kajura, the Mulago Hospital spokesperson, confirmed the surge in ward-stalking. “We continue to take action, together with security, a number of impersonators have been arrested to ensure patients aren’t charged.”Kajura highlighted the establishment of a Patient Self-Care Desk to handle grievances and clarify which services are free of charge.Atieno, who was transferred to Wandegeya Police Station after reportedly threatening self-harm while in custody, is expected to appear in court next week alongside Kamya to face charges of extortion.-URNThe post Mulago Hospital Grapples with “Fake Doctors” Preying on the Vulnerable As Extortion ‘Business’ Persists appeared first on Business Focus.