Dr Francis Asiimwe Tirwomwe had malaria and later a blood clot that cut his young life short

A brilliant doctor and an encyclopedia of the body and skin is how Dr Francis Asiimwe Tirwomwe has been known to those who knew him. However, on Monday July 31, 2023, Asiimwe breathed his last.

He had suffered from malaria about three weeks ago, but he had been cured. However, on Saturday, out of the blue at work, Asiimwe fell ill again.

Dr Francis Asiimwe Tirwomwe (Photo by Alfred Ochowo)

“He felt pain in his leg, he went to his doctors at Platinum Hospital, they did tests. They were suspecting a clot, but the tests came out negative,” Benjamin Bebe Tirwomwe, a brother to Asiimwe recounted.

“On Sunday he was back home; Monday he even dropped his children to school, he went to work but out of the blue he felt weak. He told his employees ‘let me go home and rest’ but when he got home he collapsed.”

“One of the people at home called the wife when they were rushing him to Najjera Hospital, but along the way, he felt he could not get to Najjera Hospital, he asked to be stopped at the nearest clinic, but by the time they got there, he had passed on,” Tirwomwe disclosed.

“They were not sure about the cause of his death, but the postmortem reveals that he had two big clots in the lungs. Basically, it is the clots that killed him,” Tirwomwe said.

Malaria remains a highly prevalent disease in more than 90 countries and accounts for at least 1 million deaths every year.

According to WHO, Uganda has the world's highest malaria incidence rate of 478 cases per 1,000 people per year. It is also the leading cause of sickness and death in Uganda and is responsible for up to 40 percent of all outpatient visits, 25 percent of hospital admissions and 14 percent of all hospital deaths.

According to some studies blood coagulation (or clotting) activation is frequently found in patients with malaria. Dr Asiimwe for weeks battled malaria that was successfully treated but thereafter he was found to have a blood clot that cut his young life short.

Dr Asiimwe had served for more than a decade, treating most dermatological problems including skin, hair and nail related complications. He was an expert in Dermatology, Venereology, Medical Microbiology and Immunology. And those who knew him spoke highly of his service.

“Uganda has lost one of its finest Doctors,” wrote Sophie Ashaba on Facebook. Another close associate wrote “Uganda just lost one of its most brilliant doctors, an encyclopedia of the body and skin.”

All Saints Cathedral in Kampala was filled to the brim on Tuesday the morning of August 1, 2023, as family, and friends turned up for the funeral service of Dr Asiimwe.

Mourners gathered at All Saints to celebrate the life of Dr Francis Asiimwe Tirwomwe. (Photo by Alfred Ochowo)

(Photo by Alfred Ochowo)

Mourners fought back tears that welled up in their eyes as they prayed and paid their respect to the doctor, some of them for them for the very last time. 

Dr Asiimwe was passionate when it came to his profession. In an Interview with a Ugandan TV station in 2021, where he had been hosted, he discouraged skin bleaching saying, "From a medical perspective we don't encourage skin bleaching because the price to pay for it is not worth it."

He also discouraged parents from relaxing children’s hair saying "Why would you subject your toddler to hair relaxers? These are chemicals that affect her sculp. I would also advise parents not to bathe babies with sponge, it is unhealthy to the skin." Asiimwe encouraged safe skin care practices saying, "People die of skin ailments, however it's not heard of because it is not the leading cause of death in society."

Dr Asiimwe was a specialist with various healthcare institutions including Ultra Care Health Services, Norvik Hospital, Unity Skin Clinic, Ndejje University, Global Health Economics, International Hospital Kampala, Platinum Hospital, AAR Medical Services, Mbarara University Hospital and Mulago National Referral Skin Clinic.

He worked across countries including neighbouring Kenya and Germany and also extended his services to urban and rural areas.

For his education, Dr Asiimwe went to Kitante Primary School, then Ntare School for O-Level education, for A-Level studies he went to Makerere College School and then Makerere University where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB). 

He then joined Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf Germany where he obtained a Post graduate diploma in dermatology (Clinical care, Molecular and Immunology research).

Dr. Asiimwe trained medical students at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Mbarara University of Science and Technology and was a visiting faculty at Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf Germany

He also provided supportive supervision for the HIV/AIDS and Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) output voucher-based aid project in collaboration with GTZ, KFW and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Western Uganda.

Dr. Asiimwe maintained high professional standards by being a trainer in medical didactics by German Foundation for International Development and MUST, and participated in training which included certification in medical insurance management and Core HIV training.

At the time of his death, Dr Asiimwe was finalizing his Masters in Microbial Molecular Biology. Dr Asiimwe died on Monday July 31, 2023. He passed away at the age of 48.

“I will spend the whole week writing death poetry in eulogy to this great talent that has just finished the earthly life. A well elaborate and articulate Physician who truly loved Poetry and gave in all his whole,” wrote Playwright and Poet Author Zziwa in a tweet.

Dr Asiimwe was one of our fundamental founders, elder and representative of the Lantern Meet of Poets in the Poets' Association of Uganda (PAU) fraternity.

Joseph Odokonyero also in a tweet wrote, “Thank you for the good work you have done for the short time here on earth.”

Katoroogo Sylvie in a Facebook post said of Dr Asiimwe, “you have served us diligently.”

Dr Asiimwe was the son of a renowned Ugandan Dentist who served as a commissioner with the Ministry of Health Dr JF Tirwomwe. Dr Tirwomwe and the late Ellen Mbaga had seven children, two now deceased.

Dr Asiimwe was laid to rest on Thursday August 3, 2023, in Kyamugorani village, Mbarara district in Western Uganda. He leaves behind his wife Mercy Nasejje-Asiimwe, three children, his father and five siblings.