This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to direct the government to buy 500 hospital beds from Mungai Gathogo, a 26-year-old innovator from Kiambu, has sparked controversy.
On July 15, 2020, President Kenyatta gave a major boost to Mungai and his business partner Joseph Muhinja, 35, by instructing the government to immediately procure 500 beds.
However, many Kenyans feel that Meshack Otieno's hospital bed, which allows a patient to move around with ease and comes with a comfort feature like an improvised table for feeding, is superior to Mungai's.
Otieno's bed is also made of metal, making it easy to clean and meeting all the standards to be used in a hospital.
It has been suggested that President Kenyatta's decision may have been influenced by Mungai's Kiambu roots, with some Kenyans accusing the President of being tribal.
However, it is also possible that the President's advisers did not inform him about Otieno's story.
Regardless of the reason, many Kenyans believe that county governments should give priority to purchasing Otieno's beds, which are considered to be of higher quality.
