Postmortem report: Covid19 killed Col Bantariza

On October 27, Ugandans woke up to the sad news of the death of former UPDF spokesperson and Uganda Media Center deputy director Col Shaban Bantariza.

Earlier, government Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, also the executive director of the Uganda Media Center, said Bantariza had succumbed to hypertension.

But hours later, he told reporters in Kampala that Bantariza had died of Covid19 while admitted at the Mulago National Referral Hospital.

Col Bantariza had been admitted at the health facility since October 25.

“This is to announce and confirm the death of Col Shaban Bantariza that occurred at about 2am this morning at Mulago Hospital where he had been admitted since Sunday at the [Intensive Care Unit] ICU,’’ Ofwono Opondo said.

Bantariza had complained of chest pain, cough and some signs of low blood pressure, and diabetes before being rushed to Mbuya Military Hospital.

“He was originally admitted at Mbuya Military Hospital on Friday [October 23], later to Victoria Hospital and eventually transferred to Mulago after it had been suspected that he could have contracted Covid19,” further noted Ofwono Opondo.

He also revealed that results from samples taken from the former army publicist and tested for Covid19 confirmed that the deadly viral respiratory disease as the cause of death.

“Upon carrying out medical examination in Mulago, it was confirmed that he had contracted Covid19 and so I want to inform the country of the sad news that indeed Shaban Bantariza died of Covid19,” he announced.

“The postmortem has been done. The details will be given by doctors.”

Bantariza died hours after Ministry of Health had registered 114 new Covid19 cases.

Uganda’s cumulative infection toll stands at 11,557. A total of 7,351 of these patients have recovered while 101 have succumbed to the disease.