Police are investigating the shocking murder of Gilbert Kinyua, a 39-year-old patient who was found dead on February 7 in his ward 7B hospital bed at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Kinyua had been admitted on December 11, 2024, after being referred from St. Mary’s Hospital Lang’ata.
He was receiving treatment in Ward 7B for a rare neurological disorder that caused severe muscle weakness, leaving him completely dependent on nursing care, including tube feeding.
On Friday morning, a nurse doing routine checks found Kinyua’s lifeless body in his bed with his throat slit and blood splattered across the room. The incident must have happened between the nurse’s 3 a.m. and 6 AM round checks.
There was another patient battling a similar condition in the ward, but he was too weak to recount the tragic events.
Is the KNH Murder an Inside or Outside Job?
KNH Acting CEO William Sigilai said they have handed the case to the DCI. But he stated that there is no evidence suggesting an outsider entered the hospital to commit the crime.
Detectives from the homicide unit recovered a blood-stained kitchen knife that had been thrown out of a window onto the ground floor.
Investigators suspect an intruder may have entered the ward, killed Kinyua, and escaped.
Suspiciously, the CCTV cameras in the area were reportedly not working at the time of the attack.
The murder has raised serious concerns about security at the hospital. The KNH management expressed deep sorrow over the incident and assured the public they are fully cooperating with law enforcement.
Acting CEO Dr. William Sigilai stated that the hospital has launched an internal investigation to determine how the crime happened and whether security measures need to be improved.
This shocking case brings back memories of a similar incident in 2015, when a cancer patient at KNH was brutally murdered in his hospital bed. The only witness was another bedridden patient, who was too weak to explain what had happened.
Police are calling on anyone with information to come forward as they work to solve the mystery of Kinyua’s murder.
By Vivian K.