Soroti Hospital mortuary holds 2 bodies, serves 10 districts
“What we are using was meant for a dispensary in 1940s. It is old and one room. It was constructed in 1943. But at least we have one fridge in it. At the moment, its capacity is two people,” Watmon said.
Dr. Ben Watmon, the Executive Director Soroti Regional Referral Hospital appearing before Central Public Accounts committee on Friday. (Photos by Edith Namayanja)
By Dedan Kimathi
Journalists @New Vision
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Soroti Regional Referral Hospital director Dr Ben Watmon has called for the urgent expansion of the hospital's mortuary, warning that the current facility is overstretched and ill-equipped.
He echoed this today, July 11, 2025, during an interaction with Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee (Central), which at the time was chaired by Mawogola South MP Gorett Namugga (NUP).
“What we are using was meant for a dispensary in 1940s. It is old and one room. It was constructed in 1943. But at least we have one fridge in it. At the moment, its capacity is two people,” Watmon said.
Before adding that, while they do lose people, they always encourage their kin to take their deceased beloved ones immediately to forestall what arguably would be a crisis.
“We explain to their relatives that we don’t have the capacity. But our prayer is that they shouldn’t die,” Watmon said.
Namugga added that whereas it is a common prayer that death must not occur, reality is otherwise.
Members of Parliament on Central Public Accounts committee. 
“At times, people don’t have capacity by the time they have lost their beloved ones. What exactly do you do? We want to get the practical bit,” she argued.
Chipping in, Kasilo County MP Elijah Okupa said “courtesy of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), we have a mortuary that sometimes people get services from. Then there are private hospitals… but that should not make the Government fail to provide for Soroti.”
“Sometimes it is not about culture but circumstances. You remember what happened to the late Onapito, who in his Will, said he should be buried after 60 days,” he added.
Kumi Municipality MP Silas Aogon said “Of recent, people are starting to keep bodies and bury them over the weekend like in Kenya.”
Soroti Hospital mortuary serves 10 districts, including Bukedea where the Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among hails from and a city.
The facility started as a syphilis treatment centre in the 1940’s. It is one of the 13 regional referral hospitals having been elevated to this level in 1996.
The hospital is situated about 70km from places like Kasilo, something Okupa says discourages people from benefiting from its services.
Fast forward, Namugga urged Soroti Hospital officials to gather courage and speak out. Lest their woes will be forgotten.
“You must leave when the country has known that you are among those that should be earmarked for special attention. Out of the 2.7 million (population catchment) you serve, you have a bed capacity of 278 and a mortuary capacity of two. You are very lucky that the people of Soroti don’t die,” she wondered.
Like previous hospitals that appeared this week, Soroti Regional Referral Hospital is grappling with unpaid water and electricity arrears amounting to shillings 625 million. And yet, no allocation has been made to this end in the ongoing 2025/26 Fiscal Year. Implying that the situation is bound to get worse as days go.