Look out for the elderly
The entrance to home of 82-year-old Leah Njeri in Thika, where her decomposing body was found nine months after her death.
A few days ago, I came across harrowing news reports of an elderly woman whose body and that of her dog were found decomposing in her house nine months after she died.
According to the media report, the victim might have died without the knowledge of her children, who, according to the police, hadn’t checked on her all that time.
That is despite one of her two surviving sons living a few hundred metres away from the old woman and the other having placed a bank standing order in her favour to support her financially in her home.
Questions linger on why his philanthropic son, who is reportedly a senior pilot, failed to notice that his mother was long dead. He religiously continued to send her upkeep money. The woman’s neighbours had grown concerned about her disappearance but thought she had travelled.
In another case, mistreatment of the senior citizens in a care centre for the aged resurfaced, having been unearthed by the British news organisation BBC. That has put our society in an awkward position; are we no longer able to care for the elderly?
These and other such saddening reports necessitate a concerted effort from siblings to regularly check on their family members at their homes, especially those who live alone, to prevent such incidents. They should also be always vigilant lest the elderly are unwell or unsafe.
The government has made such efforts as constructing, equipping and staffing homes for the aged and prompt disbursement of funds for the Inua Jamii monthly stipend for the older people.
However, more needs to be done to ensure they are safe by vetting and monitoring their caregivers to avoid the kind of bad behaviours reported.
The elderly must be treated with respect and laws created and implemented to protect their rights.
- Mr Kiptoo is a communications practitioner and human rights champion. [email protected].
