A 22-year-old father accused of smuggling his one year-old daughter from the Kenyatta National Hospital in an attempt to avoid paying hospital bill has pleaded guilty to the offence.
Boniface Murage Wangechi was arrested by security guards as he attempted to avoid paying a bill of Sh56, 937.
The young girl was admitted at the facility on January 26 and discharged February 11, 2019.
Mr Wagechi told resident magistrate Ms Caroline Muthoni Nzibe that he committed the since he was afraid that his daughter and wife would be detained longer at the hospital.
“It is true. Yes I attempted to go away with my daughter,” he told the court.
“I was fearing that my daughter and my wife, would be detained at KNH for long since I could not raise the hospital bill of Sh56, 937,” he added.
“After my arrest by the two guards, my daughter and wife were returned to the hospital where they are being detained now,” he further told the magistrate.
The accused said he cannot afford to raise the amount so he does not know how long mother and child will be kept at the facility where they are being guarded round the clock.
He said that he had made efforts to appeal for help but his attempts to raise money bore no fruits.
Prosecution urged the magistrate to detain the accused until Tuesday for the exhibits to be produced before court.