Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
The family of a 52-year-old cancer patient who was admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in December last year has raised questions on the manner of the postmortem on his body.
The man’s decomposing body was found on the bank of River Sosian after he disappeared from the hospital.
Mr Mark Kibet, the son of the deceased, told the Saturday Nation that the only report the family received after the postmortem examination was that some organs extracted from the body had been taken to Nairobi for analysis.
Mr Kibet said his father’s body did not have legs and hands at the time of the postmortem.
“The pathologist told us that they have taken samples of lungs, kidneys and other organs to Nairobi,” Mr Kibet said.
He added that the pathologist’s report was too vague for the family to agree with it.
At the same time, Mr Kibet said the family is unable to raise the mortuary fee and other expenses amounting to more than Sh200,000 for the body to be released for burial in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.
“We had planned to collect my father’s body for burial next week but are still struggling to raise the amount needed by the mortuary. We also need money for the funeral and other expenses,” he Mr Kibet said.
He appealed to well-wishers to come to the assistance of the family.
Efforts to get comments from the MTRH management regarding the issues raised by the family were futile.
MTRH Chief Executive Officer, Philip Kirwa, did not respond to WhatsApp messages, texts or calls.
Missing from the hospital
The patient is said to have gone missing from the referral hospital on January 21 before his body, which had been partly eaten by animals, was found on the banks of the river, about 200 metres from the institution.
Doctors and health workers who spoke to the Saturday Nation on condition of anonymity said the disappearance of the middle-aged patient is disturbing and puzzling.
Hospital management referred journalists to the police.
Uasin Gishu County Police Commander, Benjamin Mwanthi, said investigations have been launched on how the patient left his bed and disappeared from the second largest public hospital in the country unnoticed.
Mr Mwanthi said the patient changed from his hospital uniform to ordinary clothes and left on the night of his disappearance.
CCTV footage
A detective from Naiberi police station in Eldoret, where the incident was reported, told the Saturday Nation that security camera footage in the wards on the day the man left the hospital shows him removing his hospital clothes and changing into his own before walking away.
The detective added that the patient appeared frail at the time of his escape.
He said investigators want to know how the man left the hospital and the premises without being noticed by health workers and guards.
“The footage in our possession shows the fragile-looking man leaving the hospital and vanishing into the dark areas where the camera cannot capture him,” the senior detective said.
“We wonder how the patient managed to leave this area without anyone noticing or raising alarm.”
A similar incident was reported at the hospital in July 2012.
The body of a patient who had disappeared from the hospital was found floating on the same river.
