By Eumu Emmanuel
Kaberamaido District- The District Police Commander (DPC), SP David Otabong, has confirmed the arrest of Mr. Okello Charles Dickens, a lab technician attached to Aperkira Health Center III. He is currently being held in police custody.
Otabong further confirmed that two additional individuals were arrested by members of the Allied Health Professional Council. The two suspects are Amule Dilish, who was operating a private drug shop in Oyam village as a nursing assistant, and Alemu Simon, an enrolled nurse who runs a private clinic in Abirabira called A IZZY Diagnostic Center.
According to Otabong, both individuals were operating without registration from the Allied Health Professional Council. The arrests were made on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, in an operation led by Mr. Kayiszi Mubiru Michael, a member of the Allied Health Professional Council, with assistance from the police at Kaberamaido Central Police Station.
The two suspects were found to be practicing illegally, as neither of them had registered with the Allied Health Professional Council.
Mr. Okello Charles Dickens faces two charges: practicing medicine without registration and practicing for financial gain without proper registration as a health professional.
According to Mr. Kayiszi Mubiru Michael of the Allied Health Professional Council, they received a tip-off from a whistleblower who alerted them about Mr. Okello Charles Dickens. Despite being attached to Aperkira Health Center III under the Kaberamaido District Health Department, Okello had failed to register with the Allied Health Professional Council. It was revealed that he had received five retakes in his exams and was operating illegally, putting the lives of patients at risk.
Reports indicate that Okello Charles Dickens has served as a lab technician in the Kaberamaido health department for 24 years, using falsified credentials. In a related case, another lab technician, Erayu Gerald Uche, was arrested in July for possessing fake papers claiming to be from the Allied Health Professional Council. Erayu’s case is still ongoing in the Kaberamaido Chief Magistrate’s Court, where he is accused of working at Kaberamaido General Hospital with fraudulent documents.
The case has been registered at Kaberamaido Central Police Station under CRB 348/2024.
