MPs jolted by death of Murunga, ask for better medical care

MPs now want a helicopter on standby to evacuate them to a well-equipped hospital in case of an emergency.

This comes after the death of Matungu MP Justus Murunga, which was blamed on the lack of oxygen in local hospitals.

His relatives first rushed him to Matungu Sub-county Hospital in Kakamega County, where he was referred to St Mary's Mission Hospital. His conditioned worsened while shuttling between the two facilities.

Yesterday, in the National Assembly, as they eulogised the late MP, the lawmakers said he could have survived had he received better healthcare promptly.

Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi said the National Assembly should facilitate all MPs to have access to a hotline number for a helicopter to airlift them in case of an emergency for treatment in a good hospital.

“We were requesting — and I have managed to talk to the clerk of the National Assembly about this — that we be given a hotline number to helicopter services just in case,” Mr Wanyonyi said.

Mr Wanyonyi also pushed for the same service for a well-equipped ambulance for the MPs while in Nairobi.

He pointed out that the fact that Mr Murunga’s family spent 30 minutes to get to the nearest well-equipped facility is an indication that there is an underlying problem which should be addressed.

After he collapsed in his house on Saturday evening, Mr Murunga, who was experiencing breathing difficulties, was rushed to Matungu Sub-County Hospital but was not admitted as the facility did not have oxygen. He was then rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital in Mumias where he died.

The MPs said county hospitals must be well-equipped so as to deal with the surging Covid-19 numbers. The National Assembly is also considering suspending indefinitely all committee meetings in hotels to prevent spread of Covid-19 among MPs.

Majority Leader Amos Kimunya pushed for suspension of the hotel meetings: “Mr Speaker, we need to check whether it is necessary to take our members to hotels because we could be exposing them without knowing.” 

He said the House had initially agreed that all committee meetings should be restricted within the precincts of parliament because the rooms are sanitised regularly and observed by Ministry of Health officials.

Changing lives

“We need your guidance Mr Speaker because we don’t want to risk the lives of our members,” Mr Kimunya said. MPs yesterday eulogised Mr Murunga as a selfless leader who was committed to improving the life of his constituents.

Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa said Mr Murunga was committed to the cause of changing the lives of the people of Matungu.

“There isn’t a member from Western who was as committed to the revival of Mumias Sugar Company as Mr Murunga. I witnessed first-hand the love that the people of Matungu had for their MP when I visited the area about a month ago together with Deputy President (William Ruto),” Mr Ichungwa said.

“He consistently told me when I was the chairman of the Budget Committee that if there was no budget for Mumias, there will be no budget,” Mr Ichungwa added.

Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi said he has lost a great friend.

“I have lost a great friend and member of my party. He loved everyone. He was passionate about issues affecting sugarcane farmers and the revival of sugar factories,” Mr Osotsi said.

Isiolo Woman Rep Rehema Jadelsa described Mr Murunga as a gentleman who interacted with people freely with little regard for party affiliation: “He used to take me for lunch outside bunge and we would talk about many things.” 

“I vividly remember one day when I signed for our lunch at the cafeteria and he was furious, telling me that, according to their Luhya culture, a beautiful woman like me should not pay bills. He tore the voucher I had signed into pieces and paid the bill,” Ms Jadelsa said.