Kenya Newspapers Review For December 9: Taita Taveta Woman Dies Awaiting Treatment In Ambulance

On Saturday, December 9, the local dailies widely reported on the behind-the-scenes struggles that have plagued Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party despite coalition members insisting they are united.

The dailies also reported the Court of Appeal's decision to decline to allow the 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) appointed by President William Ruto to serve in office, pending the determination of a case on the constitutionality of the office.

1. Saturday Nation

A family in Taveta, Taita Taveta, is mourning the death of their kin who was left unattended to in an ambulance at the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi.

The patient was left waiting for almost an hour at the hospital after medics at the casualty department claimed they had not received the necessary information about the patient's transfer from the referring facility.

The deceased, identified as Agnes Mutuku, 35, was referred to the facility from Taveta Sub County Hospital for specialised treatment.

According to her niece, Maria Wakesho, the deceased was admitted to the Taveta sub-county hospital with gynaecological issues, but they were told she needed urgent attention at a bigger hospital.

She was put in an ambulance, and they left for Moi Hospital around 2pm, but when they arrived at the facility, they were shocked to find that their patient could not be received.

2. The Star

The paper reported that the family of Abel Peter, aka Mafia, 28, sought help to offset a huge hospital bill that has prevented them from burying him.

Peter died at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital on Thursday, November 9, after spending 10 days in the ICU following an accident caused by the raging rains on Tuesday, October 31.

Peter, a porter at Lunga Lunga market in Kwale county, slipped and fell, hitting his head on a stone on the fateful day as he braved the heavy rains to fend for his family.

Francis Kioko, a family member, said Peter was rushed to a nearby hospital in Lunga Lunga, but doctors could not treat his severe injuries.

The family said the hospital and mortuary bill had reached more than KSh 160,000, but the family managed to raise KSh58,000, which went to offset part of the enormous bill.

“The hospital cannot release the body until the bill is cleared,” Kioko said.

The family is worried that the longer the body stays at the morgue, the bigger the bill gets, and they might not be able to offset it.

3. The Saturday Standard

The daily reported President William Ruto's UDA intensified registration of new members in Nyanza, where it hopes to eat into ODM's support.

The region has been ODM leader Raila Odinga's stronghold for years.

UDA officials said they target registering 350,000 new members in Homa Bay county by 2027. Homa Bay had 551,000 registered voters during last year's 2022 election.

The ruling party took its member registration campaign to Ndhiwa constituency in Homa Bay as its officials tried to woo residents to register as members.

A similar exercise also took place in Migori, led by Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority chairman Omondi Anyanga.

In Ndhiwa, former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero, Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency chairman Odoyo Owidi, Fish Marketing Authority chairman Martin Ogindo, and Homa Bay County UDA interim chairman Kennedy Obuya led the exercise.

4. Taifa Leo

The Swahili paper reported a man who picked up a phone from a garbage dump joined the list of people who might face death sentences after being found with the phone belonging to a woman murdered in her home in Nairobi.

Matheka Musembi, 23, is facing a death sentence for armed robbery after being found with the phone of the late Loice Nyokabi Kingori, who unknown assailants killed in her Umoja residence.

The suspect was charged with stealing the phone, of unknown value, from Kingori between September 20-23, 2023, contrary to Section 296 (2) of the Law.

He is accused of committing the crime in collaboration with other suspects who have not yet been brought to court, resulting in the murder of Kingori.

The penalty for this offence is death if the suspect is found guilty. Musembi also faces additional charges of being found in possession of stolen goods, contrary to Section 32 (1) (2) of the law, after allegedly possessing the said phone.

He joined two other suspects, Elizabeth Muthoki Kinyae, 19, and Esther Nekesa Muyaka, 18, who had previously been charged with stealing two phones from Kingori and causing her fatal injuries during the robbery incident.