NMS ordered to account for expired medicines worth sh8.04b
“We live with ordinary people and know how they suffer. For sure, there is no type of medicine which cannot be consumed by the public. Looking at the range of diseases out there, can the executive director tell us the exact type of medicine that expired so that we can ascertain whether that medicine was not required by the public,” Sawula stated.
The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chairperson, Muwadda Nkunyingi (Kyadondo East, NUP), issued the directive during a meeting with the NMS top management, led by executive director Moses Kamabare, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (Credit: Maria Wamala)
KAMPALA - National Medical Stores (NMS) has been directed to table a comprehensive list of medicines that expired two financial years ago.
The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chairperson, Muwadda Nkunyingi (Kyadondo East, NUP), issued the directive during a meeting with the NMS top management, led by executive director Moses Kamabare, on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
“In the list you will provide to the committee, you will indicate which items were donated and what items were procured by the Government of Uganda,” Nkunyingi ruled.
“As you attempt to respond to these rising concerns, be mindful that we are interrogating a financial loss, and if not well accounted for, then we have to identify who among you or all caused the Government of Uganda this financial loss. This invites a more technical and convincing response,” he cautioned.
Moses Kamabare, the General Manager/CEO Uganda Medical Stores makes his submissions as Paul Okware, the chief stores and operations looks on before COSASE at Parliament on July 30th, 2026. (All Photos by Maria Wamala)
Auditor General findings
Of this stock, medicines procured using taxpayers' money were worth sh532m, while those donated by development partners were valued at sh7.507b.
Furthermore, Akol noted that during the year under review, NMS spent sh3.685b destroying expired medicines.
Backlash
During the hearing, several lawmakers, including Hakim Kizza Sawula (Bukoto South, NUP), defended the decision to grill the NMS top management, saying it was necessary to address service delivery gaps amid persistent drug stock-outs in public health facilities across the country.
MP Hakim Kizza Sawula
“We live with ordinary people and know how they suffer. For sure, there is no type of medicine which cannot be consumed by the public. Looking at the range of diseases out there, can the executive director tell us the exact type of medicine that expired so that we can ascertain whether that medicine was not required by the public,” Sawula stated.
Julius Nakiyi Muntu (Budadiri East) said: “You have an internal control manual which describes stock holding. Then your work is to monitor whether they are compliant. If you have a stock manual, please give us a copy and also a report, if you have ever done one on stock in your organisation in that financial year. That is the role of internal audit.”
NMS responds
However, in his response, NMS executive director Moses Kamabare dismissed claims that the expired stock comprised critical medicines.
“If you look at the bulk of expired medicines. That now are the concern, the Sh8b we are talking about, I can confirm, and I am on record, you will find that more than 90% of the medicines that expired would not be the medicines which the patients needed at that particular time. Why? One, I am saying that part of this was the tail end of the Covid-19 vaccines which Ugandans had said they didn’t need,” he added.
He also said some of the disposed medicines could have been outdated stock that was no longer effective against resistant strains of HIV and tuberculosis.
“We all know if we have been following that there are certain medicines that we grew up knowing for TB and HIV treatment which now cannot be taken by any of the patients. Because WHO (World Health Organization) and subsequently, the ministries of health for different governments say this medicine is no longer used. So, what do you do with that medicine?” Kamabare posed.
However, Nkunyingi said that while the explanation was understandable, it could only be verified through supporting evidence. He added that the claims required confirmation from the Ministry of Health and other user departments.
“We also need scientific and acceptable evidence that actually there was no requisition, or there was no need for medicine in line with HIV and related diseases you have quoted, and there is proof that it had been overtaken by new medicine,” Nkunyingi said.
Commenting on the matter, Stella Atyang (Moroto District Woman MP) asked: “Was there a guide, did you request for them, or did they (donors) just use Uganda as a dumping ground?”
Ismail Sowed Mulemya (Busia Municipality) said: “We want to know the exact names of the drugs that expired. Their quantity and date of expiry. We also seek to know when the NMS is supplying these drugs, whether it consults with district health officers (DHOs).”