Obituary of Steven Bosa

During the unsettled years after the Amin regime Steven continued to be the main-stay in the Ugandan mental health services.

While I was external examiner in the early 1980s he asked me to give some of the undergraduate 8.00a.m. lectures. At 7.00a.m., at the guest house on Namirembe Hill, overlooking the town where I was staying, we could hear explosions of grenades and gunfire down in the market area. My first thoughts were that the fourth year did not need a lecture on anxiety from me that morning! However, at 7.30a.m. Steven arrived to take me to the medical school. When I informed him of my concern he cheerfully advised me that we would simply drive round the troubles and I was shamed into doing so.

There then followed a threat by the anti-Government forces that they planned to invade Kampala and kill any persons remaining there. As a consequence most of those who could, left the city. This included hospital staff in the acute mental health unit. My own reaction was to keep a very low profile. Steven's response was to move into the unit armed with several days' food for the in-patients and he himself gave sole supervision to staff and provided all medication, nursing and medical care for the next few days.

This was entirely in character with Steven being a remarkable professional.