Christopher Nsamba, a Ugandan innovator, researcher and engineer, and founder of the African Space Research Program, whose innovation of locally made incubators saved thousands of newly born children in the country, is dead.

Nsamba died at Victoria Hospital in Bukoto on Sunday where he had been rushed after he reportedly fell sick. He was diabetic at the time.

At the time of his death, Nsamba had completed the manufacture of the largest baby incubator with the capacity to carry 10 babies at a go.

Nsamba had largely built his high-tech machines on his own with little support from the government, with the exception of Dr Diana Atwine, who supported him personally when she was still the head of the Health Monitoring Unit in the President’s Office. 

“She listened to me and offered me help using her personal salary,” Nsamba would say in an interview in 2019.

In May 2020, Atwine visited Nsamba’s workshop in the backyard of his home at Ntinda.

“He manufactured the automated incubator that has so far saved 1238 babies in Mukono Hospital. He is finalising the world’s largest incubator that accommodates 10 babies at ago,” Atwine said.

According to Atwine, the new incubator had unique specifications like; hypoxia cell recovery, which recovers damaged brain cells in babies, Auto/self-service, equipment services itself by server command, power backup, can survive over a week without power, eliminates viruses in a cabin and can also be controlled remotely.

“This one is being considered for Kawempe Hospital, which is estimated to have about 130 mothers giving birth daily and about 15 of these being critically ill babies,” Atwine said at the time.

Some of his incubators have been deployed in Mukono, Kawempe and Kawolo hospitals among other hospitals.

Isaac Nisa Nangoli, a friend, mourned Nsamba; “Sad indeed. His incubator thing was a game changer - I believe he had started to scale up production for it to equip other hospitals. Sad indeed. This seems to be a season of death!”

In February 2019, Nsamba raised eyebrows after he came out to dispute the Ministry of Science and Technology’s policy statement that claimed it had supported him through funding.

“I made this baby incubator in UG, it has saved 243 critically ill babies at Mukono Health 4. Ministry-Health launched it but the Science ministry lied to parliament in this policy statement that they funded/supported me to build it, not even a coin. I did this on my own. I was denied funding. Am currently building the biggest advanced baby incubator in the world, which carries 10 babies, and fixes damaged brain cells on my own without a godfather or godmother. Ministry of Science with its innovation fund is busy funding alcohol, juice, flour, they denied me any assistance,” Nsamba said.

In September 2021, Nsamba met the Rotary International president, Shekhar Mehta, who had visited Kawempe National Referral Hospital.

“He visited the World's Largest Baby Incubator that I made from Uganda he was really impressed. Thank you Mr President for dedicating us the time,” Nsamba said at the time.

In 2021, Nsamba was recognised by the Official World Record Association for building the world's largest baby incubator and most technologically sophisticated baby incubator ever built by humanity.

Grace Rubaale Amooti said Kawempe National Referral Hospital had one of Nsamba’s 10-baby incubators and it was doing wonders.

Rubaale thanked him for putting Kawempe National Referral Hospital and Uganda on the world map.