Nairobi MP Esther Passaris has called for the compensation of the family of Gilbert Kinyua who was killed while receiving treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on February 7, 2025.
Speaking during a session in parliament on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, Passaris observed that while KNH had agreed to waive hospital bills for Kinyua and the subsequent mortuary charges, that was not sufficient.
“What about compensation; the family is looking for over Ksh400,000 to give their loved one a burial and they don’t even have that money. What is the compensation that the family is going to get because Susan is young with two young children? It is not enough to waive the hospital bill and mortuary charges,” Passaris stated.
Passaris equally observed that the family had contacted her while she was away in South Africa to enable them to have an independent doctor during the postmortem.
Postmortem fees
“The family got in touch with me while I was away in South Africa. I got the family a doctor to represent them in the postmortem and settled the money of Ksh25,000 for them to have an independent doctor,” she added.
She equally sought clarification on whether the hundreds of CCTV cameras had been installed at the facility in 2015 or after the bizarre murder of Kinyua at Kenyatta National Hospital.
“Now that we have a second incident at KNH, I believe that from the first one to the second, if we had improved the security at that point, then why is it that the particular ward was not covered with CCTV? I want to know whether the 331 CCTV cameras were installed after the incident of Gilbert or after the incident of Cosmas Mutunga in 2015,” Passaris pressed.
Kinyua’s wife and children
“They have a burial and children who need to go to school and counselling needs for the entire family. Since the government should be culpable, is there a way to compensate this family,” she quipped.
In response, the Departmental Committee on Health chairman Robert Pukose revealed that the hospital had taken care of the deceased and waived medical and mortuary charges and that it was premature to discuss compensation.
“I don’t think at this stage we should be discussing the issue of compensation. There is a mechanism for which compensation can be sought and at this stage, it is too premature for us to start thinking about compensation,” Pukose noted.
While Passaris said that the deceased’s family had told her that Kinyua had Parkinson’s disease, Pukose revealed that KNH had diagnosed the deceased with Guillain Barre syndrome- a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle weakness or paralysis. He had developed pressure sores which are wounds within the pressure wounds, as a result of prolonged immobility.
