Tanasha Stella, mother of baby Kylan Arizona Princess (inset) and her husband Ferdinard Asoka at her home in Mweiga, Nyeri County on February 7, 2025. Baby Kylan was pronounced dead on arrival at Mary Immaculate Hospital on January 26, 2025.
On the night of January 26, 2025, one-and-a-half-year-old Kylan Arizona was rushed to a local health facility.
Struggling to breathe, a medic at the Mweiga Health Centre diagnosed her with pneumonia. She was immediately referred to Mary Immaculate Hospital Mweiga, 400 metres away.
Her mother, Tanasha Stella says by the time they arrived, her only child was alive but doctors at the facility held a different assessment.
Baby Kylan was pronounced dead on arrival at 10.20 pm, just a few minutes after arrival.
What however stood out were the scars on her body —marks that doctors believe were signs of physical abuse, a revelation that has led to baby Arizona’s body remaining in the mortuary for 14 days.
While her parents have sought to bury her, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which has since taken over the matter, wants a postmortem conducted.
According to Dr John Muchoki, a medical officer at the Mary Immaculate Hospital, baby Kylan was received at the medical facility by a clinician who raised concerns about the child's physical state.
“I examined the baby and noticed that she had a swollen face and multiple injuries at the inner thigh and around the abdomen that were at different stages of healing. We questioned the parents about the injuries but they could not give us conclusive answers,” he said.
Then information about a fall in the house surfaced, raising more questions. Three days before Kylan fell sick, her mother says the baby had rolled down the stairs of their apartment- a two-storey building.
Baby Kylan, who had just started learning to walk, attempted to follow her mother down the stairs without her knowledge, she claimed.
Her mother had stepped out to buy milk at a nearby shop and returned to find her lying helplessly on the floor.
The accident left Kylan’s face swollen, but her mother chose to administer first aid at home instead of taking her to the hospital.
“She was okay after the accident—still playful and active,” she says, adding that she closely monitored her daughter over the next few days as she continued to eat and behave ‘normally’.
However, on the evening of January 26, her condition suddenly worsened. She became restless, cried a lot and refused to eat.
Concerned, her parents decided to take her to Mweiga Health Centre at around 11 pm.
At the clinic, the doctor examined her and immediately referred them to the larger facility, saying she had pneumonia and was struggling to breathe.
She says that at the Mary Immaculate Hospital, a clinician examined her twice before informing them that their daughter was dead. He then instructed them to report the case to the police.
However, after obtaining an Occurrence Book (OB) number from the police station and returning to the hospital for confirmation, the doctor refused to let them leave.
“He ordered the security guards to keep us at the hospital mortuary while he questioned us about our child’s condition,” says Kylan’s father, Ferdinard Asoka.
According to him, the doctor did not explain why they were being held, only saying that he needed to write a second report.
The following day, Kylan’s father began making burial arrangements and sought a burial permit from the chief.
However, he was informed that his daughter's body would not be released until a post-mortem was conducted.
“I was told that since I could not afford the Sh25,000 post-mortem fee at the private morgue at Mary Immaculate Hospital, I should try to raise Sh5,000 for an autopsy at a public hospital mortuary,” he says.
However, as a security guard, he struggles to afford even to feed his family, he says. His wife, a stay-at-home mother, works as a casual labourer, making their financial situation even more difficult. Meanwhile, the bill at the private hospital morgue has already accumulated to Sh14,000.
Kieni West Sub-County Police Commander Samuel Ndegwa stated that investigations into the case are at an advanced stage.
“The post-mortem will be conducted as soon as possible. We are working on having the county government waive the autopsy fee for the family. Any necessary action will be taken based on the results,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kieni West Sub-County Children’s Office has also taken an interest in the case.
According to Children’s Officer Caroline Weru, the department is committed to pursuing justice for the deceased child.
