Dr Mungherera: the mental health champion bows out

Feb 09, 2017

What most people might not know is that even at the break neck speed at which Margaret spoke, she did not say a thing out of place.

By Dr Raymond F. Odokonyero

When I first met Dr Margaret Mungherera during my undergraduate training, the thing that struck me most about her was how fast she spoke.

Words tumbled out of her mouth in torrents.

I was suspicious as to whether anyone could speak that fast and still make sense, so I listened closely to try and catch her off. Alas! My opportunity to catch her off did not come and now for sure will never come.

What most people might not know is that even at the break neck speed at which Margaret spoke, she did not say a thing out of place. Her brain worked faster than normal and for that reason, she could process large amounts of information in a short time.

In spite of my childishness at the time, I was still able to notice the pride, the confidence, the warmth, the passion, the impatience all in equal measure, culminating into the magnificence, the intelligence, the strong foundation, the fighter, the hard worker, the doctor, the teacher, the protector, the psychiatrist and the altruistic soul, that was Dr Margaret Mungherera.

The news of Dr Mungherera's demise is nothing less than a near atomic bomb blast to the medical fraternity but the obvious tsunami that will inevitably ensue is sure to nearly wipe out the mental health fraternity. In mental health, no giant stands taller than Dr. Mungherera.

Her loss will reduce the paltry 35 psychiatrists in this country to shaky 25 psychiatrists! Yes. Dr. Mungherera was 10 psychiatrists in one!

She was the champion of mental health in the country, but we shall never forget these contributions: the initiation of the forensic psychiatric unit in Butabika hospital, the initiation of forensic psychiatry services in Luzira prisons, the initiation of addictions management, the formation of Uganda Psychiatric Association (UPA) for which she was the first General Secretary thereby drafting most of its constitution and regulatory framework.

Because of Dr. Mungherera, Makerere University Department of Psychiatry incorporated the teaching of forensics, ethics and patient rights in the training curriculum. With her no nonsense approach towards training, she touched each and every one of the said 35 Ugandan psychiatrists during their training to become the backbone of mental health in the country.

What can be put in cold black ink in regards to Margaret's contribution towards Mental Health would be but a single grain of sand at the seashore.

The Department of Psychiatry in Mulago Hospital joins the rest of the World in mourning this icon, the acme of professionalism and the herculean defender of all doctors. Many of Dr. Mungherera's colleagues at the department will remember her as a strict disciplinarian who tolerated nothing less than the very best.

Her larger than life presence in the corridors of the department will be dearly missed because her loud confident voice announced her presence several meters from the department block, and often served as an obvious cue for the rest of us to behave ourselves.

She was a straight talker who wasted no time beating about the bush. She was friendly and at all times spoke against injustice. She defended the underdog. She was above petty issues and personified hard work.

Above all, her bubbly self was a wonderful disguise for strength, as people that worked closely with her for three decades do not remember a day she lost her cool with anyone.

I have been robbed of a mentor and a wonderful supervisor. 

The writer is psychiatrist/ lecturer of Makerere University College of Health Sciences at the Department of Psychiatry and vice-president of EAYPTA

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