Kampala, Uganda – In a shockingly petty act of vengeance, former government minister Evelyn Anite is facing outrage after repossessing an ambulance she donated to her home district soon after being voted out of office last year.
Dubbed by some as the “ambulance snatcher,” Anite has left health centres in her remote rural district bereft of a critical service she once generously provided – but now callously took away as an apparent punishment for her election loss.
“We have no ambulance now for emergencies. Pregnant women could die,” said local nurse Margaret Kyeyune. “Is this the heart of our former minister? To put lives at risk for revenge?”
Anite, a former state minister, had gifted the ambulance to Sheema District in western Uganda in 2019 – a prized donation for an underserved area. But within months of losing her seat in 2021, eyewitnesses were stunned to see Anite arrive to reclaim the cherished vehicle.
“She just turned up demanding it back and drove it away herself,” said an attendant at a medical centre. “We were in disbelief but had no choice.”
Anite’s act has been called everything from inhumane to downright corrupt. Critics accuse her of using the ambulance as a political tool to gain favour rather than a charitable act.
“This shows it was all transactional, it was never really a gift,” said local activist Gerald Byaruhanga. “She used it for political capital and is now punishing voters.”
Anite has remained unrepentant, claiming she has the right to take back donated items. But her perceived cruelty has stirred outrage across Uganda and beyond, trending on Twitter where she’s being called the “ambulance snatcher.”
With no sign Anite will relent and return the cherished ambulance, her stunning betrayal leaves a community in dire straits and tarnishes her standing as a leader. For a stricken district denied a lifeline, it may be Anite’s own political life on the line.
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