CORRUPTION HAS NO WINNER

ADELADIUS MAKWEGA – DODOMA

Mwanakwetu: What Can We Learn from the Fight Against Corruption?

 

Early on October 5, 2026, Mwanakwetu, while at the Department of Archives and Records, met with Ms. Entuja Philip Mbwambo, a librarian, and held a discussion with her about corruption in Tanzania.

 

During their four-minute conversation, Ms. Mbwambo narrated the following story:

 

“There was a woman whose relative was sick. She took the patient to a public hospital to receive medical treatment. Upon arrival, the patient underwent the necessary medical tests and was later told that She would be assigned a specialist doctor who would perform surgery.

 

The process of assigning the doctor took a long time while the patient remained in the ward. Surprisingly, other patients who arrived after her were assigned to the same doctor and underwent surgery, but this woman’s relative was not assigned to the doctor.

This raised questions. When the woman asked relatives of other patients, they told her that they had paid 250,000 Tanzanian shillings, which was why their patients had been scheduled quickly. They told her, ‘If you keep waiting, you will get tired, because an empty hand receives nothing.’

The woman wondered what she should do. Where would she get that amount of money when they came from a village and had nothing—no A, B, C or D?

When they informed their relatives about the matter, they said that paying 250,000 shillings was impossible. First, the farming season had already passed. They also questioned whether giving such money to someone was an official procedure. Was a receipt issued for the money? The answer was no.

One of the relatives said that he knew where they could get the money, and arrangements were made so that the patient could receive treatment.

The money was obtained. The following day, the relatives went with the money and were called into the doctor’s office so that they could make the payment and have the patient scheduled for surgery.

When they entered the doctor’s room, the relative carrying the money and the patient handed the entire amount in cash to the doctor. The patient was then scheduled for surgery the following day.

The relative and the patient were getting up from their chairs to leave when, suddenly, two plain-clothes officers entered the doctor’s room.

 

They said, ‘Doctor, you are under arrest. You have received a bribe of 250,000 shillings. We are officers responsible for preventing and combating corruption. By the authority given to us, you are under arrest, and we are now going to search you to determine whether you really have the money.’

A search was conducted in the doctor’s room, but the doctor was not found with even a single shilling. He only had a pen, a blood-pressure monitor, and painkillers, including diclofenac, in his pocket.

This created confusion. The plain-clothes officers turned to the patient’s relatives and asked, ‘Where is our money?’

The officers began assaulting the patient’s relatives, who insisted that they had given the money to the doctor.

The relative said that he had handed the money to the doctor exactly as it was.

The doctor, however, denied receiving the money and said that he did not have it in his pockets.

At that point, both the doctor and the patient’s relative were placed under arrest.

Remember, the patient had been scheduled for surgery the following day. The patient returned to the ward, while the doctor and the patient’s relative were taken into custody.

 

The following day, the patient did not undergo surgery. There was growing tension at the hospital over the incident, with medical leaders moving from one office to another as the hospital administration tried to determine how to resolve the matter.

On the third day, the patient’s condition became very serious. Eventually, the patient died while the doctor and the patient’s relative were still in custody.

Remember, the 250,000 shillings had disappeared under unclear circumstances. How could the matter be resolved?

The medical leadership, together with the Medical Officer in Charge, sat down and decided to provide one million shillings to quietly resolve the matter with those involved. The issue was discussed and settled, the parties involved were given the money, and the relatives were released and returned to their homes.

The patient’s relatives returned to the hospital, where they were handed the body of their loved one. They then quietly returned home.

They took the body of their relative and went home to bury him.”

Ms. Entuja Mbwambo then asked:

“What do we learn from this incident?”

Mwanakwetu responded:

“The point you are heading toward is very far-reaching. First, I want to know what happened to the bribe money that was given to the doctor after he received it. Where did he take it? Why was he not found with it?”

 

Ms. Entuja replied:

“In the doctor’s office, the doctor’s chair was close to a wooden opening leading into a second room. When he received the money, he quickly pushed it through the opening, and a nurse in the second room received it and quietly walked away with it without the patient or his relative knowing what had happened.”

 

Mwanakwetu then said:

“The fight against corruption is not the responsibility of only one institution entrusted with combating it, such as PCCB. It is the responsibility of every one of us. If each of us has good intentions, we can fight corruption. But if everyone acts in their own interest, things will remain exactly as they are in this story.”

After their conversation, Entuja said goodbye to Mwanakwetu, and each went on their way.

What Does Mwanakwetu Say Today?

This is an article about corruption in which Ms. Entuja Mbwambo, a librarian from the Office of the President, Department of Archives and Records, here in Dodoma, has shared this story.

 

 

My dear reader, what do you know about corruption?

For those who would like to know more about Ms. Entuja, she attended Amani Primary School in Dodoma and later Shingatini Secondary School in Kilimanjaro, before joining Mzumbe University in Morogoro.

Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember.

“CORRUPTION HAS NO WINNER.”

I wish you a wonderful day.

Email: makwadeladius@gmail.com
Telephone: 0717 649 257