Dr. Semu Sinagabula Musoke, who died in Nairobi on October 26, was my friend and hero. My love for him was not because of what he did for me, which was a lot, but who he was. 

Semu was a down-to-earth gentleman that understood his place as an equal among God’s children. Notwithstanding his high station in society, Semu did not veer from his natural comfort zone of simplicity, humility, and service to others. 

Semu’s death has ended his second life that began in early February1980. That was the time that he recovered from a near-death encounter with one of the deadliest human disease-causing agents known to medical scientists. 

Dr. Musoke had been infected by the virus on January 15, 1980, when he had responded to a very urgent call to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Nairobi Hospital. There, he had found Monsieur Charles Monet, a French tourist that was deathly ill with severe bleeding “from everywhere” and multiple organ failure that had necessitated emergency resuscitation. 

In the process of trying to save Monet’s life, Dr. Musoke had come in direct, unprotected contact with his patient’s secretions and blood. A lot of blood. When he inserted a breathing tube into Monet’s windpipe, the patient vomited, covering Dr. Musoke’s face and clothes in blood-stained vomit. Some entered Dr. Musoke’s mouth. 

He had soldiered on, the doctor’s singular purpose driving him to do all he could to save his patient’s life. He had stayed with Monet until the latter’s death in the early hours of the morning. 

Dr. Musoke did not know what had killed his patient at the time. He knew that he had done the very best he could to try to save the doomed man. It was such a striking experience that when I visited him and our mutual friend Dr. John B. Masembe in late January 1980, he narrated the story during our conversation. 

I had gone to Nairobi to take the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE), a pre-requisite for admission for postgraduate medical education in Canada. Semu, John and I had spent a very happy time together before I returned to my exile home in Maseru, Lesotho a few days later. 

Dr. Musoke began to feel unwell on January 24, 1980. He quickly progressed to a very severe illness that brought him to the proverbial edge of the grave. Samples of his blood were sent to world-class laboratories in South Africa, and the United States of America. The South Africans identified Marburg Virus in the blood. 

Little was known about this virus at the time, except that it had a high death rate, and killed its victims through severe bleeding and destruction of vital organs. Whereas it was named after a German city where it had caused the first documented outbreak in 1967 (simultaneously with one in Belgrade, Yugoslavia), Marburg Virus had been carried to Europe by a green monkey or monkeys that had been exported from Central Uganda, Dr. Musoke’s birthplace.

I was called by a public health officer at the Ministry of Health of Lesotho to inform me that the Kenyans had reported that I had been in contact with a patient with a severe infectious haemorrhagic disease. I needed examination, testing, isolation, and surveillance. Memories of the terror remain vivid. 

By God’s grace, Semu and Monet were the only ones who contracted the disease at that time. Semu’s recovery was one of the most pleasant surprises, for he had manifested the features of those who usually died from this awful relative of the Ebola virus. 

With accumulated knowledge today, we know that our brother was extremely lucky to have survived. The death rates during subsequent outbreaks in Congo, Angola, and Uganda were 83, 88, and 58 percent, respectively.

The Marburg virus type that almost killed him is now officially called the Musoke strain (MARV Musoke). According to Richard Preston, the author of a bestseller titled “The Hot Zone”, in which he gave a detailed account of Dr. Musoke’s terrifying illness, samples of his blood were sent to laboratories around the world and, at the time of publication of that book in 1994, Dr. Musoke’s blood sample was in the custody of the United States Army. Samples remain accessible at the European Virus Archive Global in Marseille, France and have been used in attempts to develop effective vaccines. 

Semu’s recovery seemed to have doubled his commitment to serve humanity with excellence. Describing him in “The Hot Zone,” Preston wrote: “Dr. Musoke was widely considered to be one of the best young physicians at the hospital, an energetic man with a warm sense of humour, who worked long hours and had a good feel for emergencies.” 

That, of course, was the least one expected from a graduate of Makerere University Medical School. Semu had entered Makerere Medical School in July 1971 and had had a flawless passage through the rigorous five-year course, at the end of which he had graduated in March 1976.

He had successfully completed his internship before joining the long list of Ugandan doctors who had fled their homeland to seek safer and better opportunities to serve humanity and build their careers. He had initially faced challenges with getting a job in Kenya but had finally secured appointment at the Nairobi Hospital which was the leading private hospital in that country in 1977. 

Following his recovery from Marburg Virus Disease Semu enjoyed a very successful career at Nairobi Hospital and in private practice. He was blessed with Helen, his wife who loved him and supported him throughout their marriage. 

Helen was by his side when he contracted a non-infectious disease that sapped his energy, challenged his endurance, and had him in and out of hospital multiple times during recent years. She was with him during his admissions to hospital in India, that included moments of fear that death was imminent. 

It was a joy to see Semu and Helen in Nairobi on February 17, 2024. Semu looked very well. His sense of humour was as intact as ever. And he was continuing to offer care to his patients. But subsequent admission to hospital, including another visit to India, heightened our concern. Yet we continued to look forward to seeing Semu gain. It was not to be. 

My soul grieves with Helen and her children. We have lost a friend, a very fine gentleman that we honour without reservation, and remember with special fondness. Kenya has lost an outstanding adopted son. Uganda has lost one of her very best citizens, one whose exemplary career and conduct was priceless diplomacy on behalf of his motherland. 

© Muniini K. Mulera