A week after the family of Patricia Nabukenya—a 29-year-old Makerere University graduate—was informed of her death in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a disturbing twist has emerged: the hospital now claims she is still alive, albeit on life support. Yet, despite the contradiction, medical staff continue to pressure the family to consent to organ donation, specifically the harvesting of her kidneys.
The continued push by Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, where Patricia was admitted, has left her family traumatized, suspicious, and demanding transparency.
“This is not just medical confusion—it’s psychological torture,” said a family spokesperson. “They first told us she was gone. Now they say she’s on life support. All while asking us to let them extract her kidneys. What is really going on?”
Organ Harvest or Medical Cover-Up?
As the emotional and ethical storm deepens, a number of uncomfortable questions are being asked—by Patricia’s family, legal experts, and the wider Ugandan public:
- Was Patricia already declared dead to set the stage for illegal organ harvesting?
- Has the hospital already removed the kidneys, and is now seeking retroactive consent to cover its tracks?
- Are the organs already promised to a waiting recipient, making this more than just a medical request—but a commercial transaction?
- Was Patricia intentionally left to deteriorate, or worse, medically induced into brain death to facilitate organ retrieval?
- Is it ethical—or even legal—for a hospital to persistently pressure a vulnerable family to donate their loved one’s organs, especially under such murky circumstances?
For now, the hospital’s explanations remain inconsistent. Initial reports shared with Patricia’s relatives ranged from her choking on water, to falling in the bathroom, to a heart attack caused by a brain clot. These conflicting accounts have only added to the family’s skepticism.
The Family’s Stance: A Firm Refusal
From the beginning, Patricia’s mother and siblings have categorically rejected the idea of donating her organs—especially under such unclear conditions.
“They want us to consent to something we don’t understand, after giving us half-truths and contradictions. We will not hand over Patricia’s body—or any part of it—until we get answers,” said one of her sisters.
Adding to the family’s pain is the lack of official Ugandan intervention. Despite public outrage and mounting pressure on social media, there has been no formal statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ugandan Embassy in the UAE, or the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, which oversees labor export.
A Bigger Issue: Migrant Workers and Exploitation
Patricia’s story is beginning to mirror the silent suffering of thousands of African domestic workers across the Gulf states, where poor working conditions, isolation, and abuse are widespread. What makes Patricia’s case uniquely horrifying is that even in her most vulnerable moment—possibly her last—her body has become the subject of negotiation.
Ugandan human rights advocates are calling for:
- An independent medical examination of Patricia’s condition and cause of death.
- A full investigation into the hospital’s handling of the case.
- The immediate involvement of Ugandan consular officials in the UAE.
- A formal halt to any organ extraction procedures without verified consent and oversight.
What Happens Now?
With Patricia’s body—or what may be left of it—still in UAE custody, and her family refusing to sign over her organs, the case is now balancing on a thin line between medical ethics, legal rights, and what many fear is a deeper transnational exploitation racket.
Until the truth is fully known, one fact remains: a promising young woman, who left Uganda with dreams of financial independence, now lies trapped in a foreign hospital—her body contested, her dignity in peril, and her family left in anguish.
The silence of authorities is deafening. And time may be running out
