Adeladius Makwega – MBAGALA
It is 3:29 p.m. on February 18, 2026. Mwanakwetu has arrived home to attend the Ash Wednesday service. As soon as he steps inside, he receives a phone call from his workplace, and the caller instructs him:
“Makwega, are you at the office? Even if you’ve already reached home, come back to the office immediately — there’s a visitor…”
Indeed, Mwanakwetu returned to the office to carry out the assignment. The work began at the Office of the Regional Commissioner of Mara and later continued at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Memorial Referral Hospital in Kwaangwa, Musoma Municipality.
The assignment ran from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on February 18, 2026. Afterward, Mwanakwetu left the hospital and boarded a motorcycle taxi (bodaboda) to return home.
While riding through the rain that night after work, Mwanakwetu asked the rider several questions. The rider introduced himself as Davidi Chilima, a member of the Wajita community, working as a bodaboda operator in Musoma town.
“Sir, my daily routine is that I wake up early in the morning and work until 10:00 a.m. Then I return home, bathe, and go to school. I am a Form Four student, studying from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. I go back home, eat, bathe, take my motorcycle, and return here to Kwaangwa to carry passengers until 11:00 p.m. After that, around 9:00 p.m., I head back home.”
Remember, Mwanakwetu himself was returning from work that same evening and night.
“Here, I mostly carry patients who come seeking medical services. Most of my trips are from Kwaangwa to Musoma Municipal Hospital and back. If it’s one passenger, the fare is 3,000 shillings one way and 6,000 shillings for a round trip. If there are two passengers, it’s 6,000 shillings one way and 12,000 shillings round trip. I carry many patients, and some don’t even have money — but you can’t refuse a sick person, because tomorrow I might be the one who is sick.
The problem with this hospital is that many patients, after receiving services here, are told to go for X-rays at Musoma Municipal Hospital. That’s why these trips are so frequent. The X-ray machine here has not yet started operating. I’ve even witnessed several times when someone dies, and the body is rushed to the Municipal Hospital by ambulance. But sir, once this hospital is completed, it will be of great help.”
Mwanakwetu arrived home and parted ways with Davidi Chilima, unaware that Mwanakwetu himself had been part of the visit by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Seif Shekalage, who had come to inspect the progress of construction at the hospital.
Earlier, upon being received at the Office of the Regional Commissioner of Mara, Colonel Mtambi stated that nearly 10 billion shillings had been allocated to the Kwaangwa Hospital for the 2025/2026 financial year, of which nearly two billion had already been spent. Colonel Mtambi urged the contractors to perform their duties diligently so that payments could be made on time.
That evening, Dr. Shekalage visited the hospital, inspected the construction, and spoke with staff members.
Later, Dr. Seif Shekalage issued the following directive on behalf of the government to his ministry and the hospital leadership:
“It is not acceptable to inconvenience patients by making them travel to Musoma Municipal Hospital for X-rays when this is a Referral Hospital. I instruct all leaders under my authority — the team of experts from the Ministry of Health who are on this tour — to examine what the problem is and advise on what should be done as soon as possible.”
Earlier in the visit, the Acting Regional Administrative Secretary of Mara, Dominicus Lusasi, accompanied the Permanent Secretary step by step through all meetings, both external and internal, until the tour concluded at 8:00 p.m. on February 18, 2026 — around the same time Mwanakwetu met the bodaboda rider, Davidi Chilima, whose concerns were already being addressed by the government.
Upon arriving home, Mwanakwetu decided to write this article.
While writing, there was a knock at the door. He was told:
“Brother, come lock the door. I won’t sleep at my house tonight. I’m going to sleep at my friend’s house because her husband is undergoing hernia surgery tomorrow at Kwaangwa Hospital. Their children are alone, and most of the extended family has not yet arrived.”
Mwanakwetu went and locked the door. He finished preparing the article at around 11:00 p.m.
What does Mwanakwetu say today?
Indeed, the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Memorial Referral Hospital here in Mara Region is extremely important in safeguarding the health of Tanzanians in the Lake Zone. Consider these two cases: Mwanakwetu’s neighbor whose husband is undergoing hernia surgery, and the bodaboda rider — while the government continues striving to improve the condition of this hospital.
Truly, efforts must be intensified to ensure that this hospital becomes better and that services improve — all with the aim of enhancing the lives of Tanzanians.
Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:
“Their Father Is Undergoing Hernia Surgery.”
Have a good day.
Makwadeladius @gmail.com
0717649257
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