Woman’s death at Mbagathi Hospital raises questions
Naftali Mbaki recounts how he took his wife to Nairobi’s Mama Lucy Hospital on July 12, 2021 only for her to die later under mysterious circumstances.
When 60-year-old Naftali Mbaki took his wife to Nairobi’s Mama Lucy Hospital on July 12, he hoped she would return home after her sugar levels are stabilised.
But, when the Nation visited him on Monday at his Kayole home, he could only show his wife’s black backpack and a pair of shoes — the only items he came home with after weeks of looking for the missing patient.
His wife, Jane Kari, 57, died under mysterious circumstances at a yet-to-be-established facility, with Mama Lucy Hospital, an ambulance service provider and Mbagathi Hospital trading blame.
Mr Mbaki now has a string of questions regarding Jane’s death and why it was hushed for about two weeks.
“The last time I spoke to my wife was on July 13, at 1am. It was the night that I had taken her to hospital and admitted her at around 8pm on July 12,” recalls Mbaki.
Naftali Mbaki shows a picture of his wife, Jane Kari, 57, who died under mysterious circumstances.
Transfer to Mbagathi
“Before we talked that night, a nurse at Mama Lucy told me that they were going to transfer my wife to Mbagathi because they did not have enough oxygen.”
He hoped to see his wife when dawn broke but he was pressed at work and failed to go to hospital on that day. On July 14, he went to Mbagathi Hospital accompanied by his neighbour, a middle aged woman, to check on Jane’s progress because the call he made to her phone went unanswered.
“When we got to Mbagathi Hospital, a receptionist told us that she was in isolation and had contracted Covid-19,” he said.
“We asked to get documents, at least the NHIF card, to start processing payment details but we were told we could not take anything inside a Covid-19 isolation ward. They told us to go home and come back after seven days,” he added.
Went home
The two went home as instructed. On the seventh day, they went back to the hospital to ask if they could see their patient and that is when the mystery of his wife’s death began.
“At the reception, we were told that Mbagathi Hospital had not received any patient going by my wife’s name. We checked all their records, name by name. We even went to the mortuary and my wife’s name had not been listed anywhere,” he told the Nation.
Mr Mbaki went back to Mama Lucy hospital where Jane had been admitted. There, he was shown details of his wife’s transfer via an ambulance owned by the Kenya Red Cross E-plus service. The hospital washed its hands off the matter Mr Mbaki was told to check with Mbagathi. He instead went home with his brother and other relatives.
He was on the verge of giving up when his brother suggested that they approach a popular Forward Travellers matatu tycoon, who linked them up with Embakasi Central MP Gathiru Mwangi.
The legislator called the two hospitals and Mr Mbaki was summoned to Mama Lucy Hospital.
Dead
“I was told that my wife was at Mbagathi Hospital and that I should go there because someone was waiting for me. I went. At Mbagathi, a doctor broke the sad news that my wife had died,” he said with tears in his eyes.
“Why didn’t they tell me when I came on July 14? What killed her? Why didn’t they record her name anywhere? Why don’t I have Covid-19 yet I was with her when I took her to hospital that day? ” he wondered. Mr Mbaki on Monday recorded a statement at Kayole Police Station.
He has been asked to look for money for a post-mortem examination.
In a press release Tuesday, E-Plus services confirmed taking Jane to Mbagathi Hospital.
“We carried out the evacuation in accordance with the stipulated evacuation protocols and any further information on this issue can be sought from the hospital,” read the statement.
The Nation tried to get a comment from Mbagathi Hospital but Medical Superintendent Loice Mutai said “the director will probably do a press statement on the matter”.
