NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 – The Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) management says security has been heightened at the facility following the murder of a patient Gilbert Kinyua in the ward.
Speaking during a press conference on Sunday, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) William Sigilai stated that the hospital is fully cooperating with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) which is investigating the matter.
“We have deployed more officers at entry points. We have engaged the National Police Service to also enhance their presence in the compound,” he stated.
“It is a very sad situation. I am not trying in any way to say that any murder whether it is one in hundred years or fifty years is acceptable. We are recognising now as time goes by that a new threat other than disease is coming to the fore. Something for whch we are not trained.”
He assured that no one will interfere with the probe on the matter which he described as a ‘murder most foul.’
“We don’t have any evidence that someone walked in from outside and killed a patient in our ward,” he stated.
Kinyua, 39, was discovered with his throat slit inside Ward 7B on Friday morning.
He had been admitted to the hospital on December 11, 2024, with a cerebral disorder, but nearly a month later, his hospital bed became the scene of a brutal crime.
A nurse on duty said her routine check at 3 a.m. on Thursday showed nothing unusual. However, when she returned at 6 a.m. on Friday, she found Kinyua’s lifeless body, his neck slit and blood splattered across the ward. Another patient in the ward, who was receiving treatment for a similar condition, was too weak to provide details of what had happened.
Detectives recovered a blood-stained kitchen knife on the ground floor, apparently thrown out of a nearby window. Police believe an intruder gained access to the ward and killed Kinyua before escaping. However, CCTV cameras were not working at the time, making it difficult to determine how the attacker got in or out.
Kenyatta National Hospital confirmed the incident, saying they were deeply saddened by the murder. Acting CEO Dr. William Sigilai said the hospital is cooperating with law enforcement and has launched an internal investigation. He assured the public that KNH remains committed to ensuring the safety of its patients, staff, and visitors.
The killing revives memories of a similar murder at the hospital nine years ago. In November 2015, a cancer patient was brutally attacked in his hospital bed, found with stab wounds and one of his eyes gouged out. The only witness was another incapacitated patient who was unable to recount what had happened.
Police have urged anyone with information to come forward as they investigate the circumstances surrounding Kinyua’s murder and assess possible security lapses at the hospital.
