Nurse to learn her fate today

By Michael Odeng  

AFTER five months, the Buganda Road Magistrate’s Court will today pronounce its judgment in the case in which a nurse, Rosemary Namubiru (64) allegedly injected a baby with HIV infected cannula.

Following Namubiru’s trial, the magistrate is expected to convict or acquit her. Should the court find her guilty, Namubiru faces a maximum sentence of seven years in jail as provided for in the Penal Code Act.

Both the resident state Attorney Lino Anguzu and the defence team led by Ladilus Rwakafuzi and David Kabanda completed their closing arguments on April 29. Namubiru’s lawyers earlier on asked court to acquit the suspect citing unlawful detention and torture.

Meanwhile, prosecution asked court to find Namubiru guilty of unlawfully and negligently injecting the baby with a cannula contaminated with her HIV+ blood while knowing the action could likely spread the infection, a disease dangerous to life.

Namubiru currently on remand at Luzira Prison, was arrested on January 8, 2014 at Victoria Medical Center after the baby’s mother pinned her saying that she first pricked her index finger and then turned the cannula on the infant. 

They had taken the baby to the private hospital for treatment of some other ailment.

The suspect allegedly committed the offence on January 7, 2014 at the hospital. According to prosecution, Namubiru had malicious intent to cause the death of the baby. 

The hospital immediately put the baby on a post exposure ARV regimen. The post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is given to people newly exposed to HIV in a bid to stop infection taking place. The baby completed PEP treatment in 29 days, maintaining her HIV negative status.

Namubiru denied the charges when she first appeared in court.

According to court documents, Namubiru is resident of Seguku-Nsalo zone, along Entebbe road. She worked with Victoria Medical Centre as a registered nurse for four years by the time of the incident and her main role was to inject patients, dress wounds and dispense medicine to patients as prescribed by the doctor.