A private hospital in Machakos County is on the spot after a nurse allegedly administered a lethal injection to a seven-month-old baby on Sunday.
The baby had been taken to Shalom Hospital after scalding his left hand with hot water.
Baby Ethan Muendo passed on barely two hours after the nurse administered an injection apparently to relieve pain.
According to the baby’s mother Ms Juliana Mutheu, the boy’s left hand was slightly scalded by hot water from a dispenser on Saturday night.
“Since the burn was not serious, we decided to take him to Shalom Hospital on Sunday morning. He was given an injection to relieve pain. The nurse then washed and dressed the wound. We went home but the baby was weak,” said Ms Mutheu.
She said she tried to breastfeed the baby in vain before calling a nurse at the hospital.
The nurse told Ms Mutheu that the weakness could have been caused by the effects of the drugs.
She called a lab attendant in the same hospital who told her to take the child back to the hospital.
The baby was admitted at the Emergency Unit only to be told later that he had passed away.
The baby’s father Mr Jonathan Muendo, a journalist with KBC, confronted the security guards after they locked the gate to prevent journalists from entering the hospital.
However, a letter from the hospital written to Montenzuma Funeral Home, where the body was taken, acknowledged that the baby had died at the facility.
Two nurses were arrested and recorded statements with the police. The baby’s parents also recorded statements with the police.
The incident happened barely a month after a woman delivered a baby on the floor at Shalom Hospital’s, Athi- River branch as nurses took tea.
It emerged that the said nurse was not qualified to practice. The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board CEO Daniel Yumbya ordered further investigations.
The board has been accused of not cracking the whip on the hospital even after receiving numerous complaints from the public.