Uganda, April 28 -- Barely three months after being diagnosed with bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), Dr Dan Wamala Serwanga succumbed to the illness on March 22. He was just 58 and had served as a senior consultant pathologist at Mulago National Referral Hospital.

A resourceful figure in clinical services and academia within Uganda and beyond, Dr Wamala served with distinction during his more than two decades of service at Mulago hospital. Nearly 15 of those years were spent as a senior consultant.

Born on February 16, 1966, at Mulago hospital, to the late Edward and Violet Serwanga, Dr Wamala spent his formative years in the nurturing embrace of Mukubira Zone, Makerere, where he also attended his junior education.

After excelling...