Ugandan State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatisation Evelyn Anite has confirmed that she withdrew an ambulance she donated to Koboko Municipality after losing a parliamentary election, saying she had “no apologies for that.”
Anite handed over the medically equipped ambulance to the Koboko Municipal Health Department on September 7, 2020, ahead of the National Resistance Movement primaries. The vehicle was meant to transport pregnant women to referral hospitals and health centres, reduce maternal mortality and home deliveries, and help in the fight against fistula. She also promised to pay the driver’s salary for six months.
The ambulance, branded with Anite’s photos, was in use until after she lost the NRM primary for the Koboko Municipality MP seat to Dr. Charles Ayume in September 2020. Days later, health officials in Koboko reported that the vehicle had gone missing from the hospital parking yard.
Koboko Municipality Mayor Wilson Sanya confirmed that the ambulance was handed back to Anite on her orders. District Health Officer Dr. Denis Oloya said the vehicle was taken to Kampala, though he denied that the district formally returned it.
The incident resurfaced in October 2023 after the Africa Facts Zone account on X posted about it. Responding directly, Anite confirmed she had taken back the ambulance and defended her decision.
“Thank you for bringing this up. First, it’s true I took back my ambulance & I have no apologies for that. Why did I do it? It’s because they didn’t vote for me. So did you expect me to walk away with nothing? Galatians 6:7 A man reaps what he sows,” she wrote on X on October 3, 2023.
Anite added that she bought the ambulance with her personal savings, not public funds, and later sold it. She told critics they did not understand the pain of losing an election after investing in a community that did not vote for her.
The admission drew criticism online, with many calling the move punitive to residents who relied on the ambulance for emergency transport. Health officials in Koboko said the vehicle had been helping people in the district and municipality for referrals.
Anite, who has served as State Minister for Youth and later for Investment and Privatisation, argued that her action was a consequence of the community’s choice. “Once they said go away, I packed all my belongings and left them,” she posted….See More
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