This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
On January 5, 2020, a heavily pregnant Ms Victoria Zubeida walked into Mikindani Medical Centre in Jomvu, experiencing excruciating labour pangs. At 11pm, she successfully delivered a baby boy, but doctors admitted the infant, citing complications.
However, the hospital's actions would soon raise suspicions among the community. On Tuesday, around 4pm, Ms Zubeida met another expectant woman at the maternity wing, where she shared her experience with the hospital staff.
"She asked me about services at the hospital and we talked for long. My husband came and urged the doctors to discharge us after our baby's health improved, but they said his condition was still unstable," Ms Zubeida said.
But at 7pm, Ms Zubeida claims she was asked to leave the hospital without signing any discharge forms. Unaware of what was to come, she left the hospital and met a woman who offered to help her. A nurse allegedly promised to give her some drugs for the baby, but Ms Zubeida left in a hurry.
Upon reaching the bus stop, the woman reminded her about the drugs, and Ms Zubeida rushed back to the hospital to pick them up. However, upon returning to the bus stop, she could not find the woman or the baby. She broke down and wailed, and a Good Samaritan eventually took her back to the hospital to inquire about the situation.
But the hospital refused to hear her out, according to Mikindani residents led by Joyce Adhiambo and Wafula Wamangey. They claim they begged the hospital's watchman to allow the distraught woman to take a rest at the facility, but the hospital refused.
"How did that stranger access the maternity ward? We have questions that the hospital's management must answer. How could they lock out their patient to cry outside the hospital alone at midnight?" Mr Wamangey asked.
Ms Zubeida's husband, David Muya, was also left searching for answers. "On Monday morning, I came to check on my son and wife and was told he was still unwell. On Tuesday around noon, I sent my neighbours to assist my wife after she got discharged but doctors insisted the baby was still unwell," he said.
Mr Muya went to the hospital only to find his wife wailing outside the facility at night. "I told the doctors not to discharge my wife when she's alone; either she should be accompanied by me or my neighbours. Why did they discharge her at night? Who signed the discharge forms? Why did they change the birth date of my child from Sunday to Tuesday?" he asked, tears rolling down his eyes.
Mr Muya alleged that the hospital staff asked him to change the birth dates because crucial details had not been registered in the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). "They told me if I wanted NHIF to pay for my maternity, I had to change the dates. These are all pointers. They have stolen my child, it was a ploy," Ms Zubeida said.
Ms Zubeida reported the matter at Mikindani police station and begged doctors to provide them with CCTV footage to find the woman who fled with her child. However, the hospital has remained mum.
Residents now want the county government to investigate the hospital. Jomvu sub-county deputy commander Jashon Polloh said the matter is under intensive investigations.
