The County can now authoritatively report that, night duty nurses and orderlies at the Nairobi’s Coptic Hospital, have been freely sedating and raping weak and vulnerable patients, under the very watch of the hospital administration.
As the country struggles to grapple with the far reaching dent on our healthcare systems, occasioned by the COVID~19 pandemic, fresh and heartbreaking details are emerging, of seemingly management~sanctioned wave of rape of female patients, that has become the new normal at the Ngong Road based facility.
In an exclusive interview with The County, one of the latest victims gives a blow~by~blow account of her heart-wrenching and scary ordeal at Coptic, worth the attention and action of the relevant authorities, as soon as yesterday.
According to the patient, who will call ‘Lucy’ (not her real name. We conceal her identity for her safety), what she went through is something she would never have imagined would happened to her in life, at the very same hands of the people she entrusted with her health, in what is largely considered a high~end medical facility.
DIAGNOSED WITH LIVER CANCER
Lucy was initially being treated at Outspan Hospital in Nyeri, where she had been admitted after she was admitted for liver cancer.
The cancer was a recurrence of an earlier breast cancer, which she had battled successfully in 2019.
After assessment by medics at Outspan, she was referred to Coptic Hospital, Nairobi for specialized treatment on Wednesday 1st July 2020.
Consequently, she proceeded to Coptic Hospital that very same day.
Lucy told The County that she was received and admitted at Coptic Hospital at around 9pm in the evening.
Up to this point, all seemed ok as her cancer was declared Stage 2 and treatment commenced immediately.
SEDATED AND RAPED
But all hell broke loose on the night of Friday 3rd July 2020.
While asleep after a heavy dosage of sedatives, Lucy was raped by who, our preliminary investigations conclude must have been either the nurses or orderlies at the hospital, as they are the only ones on duty at night.
But the lady could not realize she was being raped at night as she was on sedatives.
It is while taking shower on Saturday morning that she unravelled what had happened.
CASE REPORTED
Alarmed by the discovery, Lucy reported to Dr. Andrew Odhiambo, the resident oncologist, and the doctor assigned to her, who promised to take up the issue with the management.
Sadly, no feedback came the whole day and it was only after she persisted with her plea that the inhouse gynecologist came and did tests.
But the gnaecologist went missing from that point and the results never came; they are yet to come, 1 week later.
The following day, on Sunday, after her visiting was allowed, her daughter arrived at the hospital, to who Lucy narrated the whole story.
Consequently, upon consultations with the rest of the family, it was agreed that she checks out of the hospital on Monday and go seek treatment elsewhere.
THE COVER UP
Lucy was however being denied exit on Monday, with the management, through Dr. Odhiambo, making frantic attempts to convince her to wait and check out the following day, Tuesday, ostensibly in an attempt to cover up the story. We are in possession of full audio recordings of the conversations between Lucy and Dr. Odhiambo.
To make matters worse, in between the Monday check out tussle, Lucy was injected with a substance that instantly made her weak. She also noted that, the syringe used to inject her was disposed elsewhere and not the usual bin. Luckily, the injection cannula was accidentally left on her arm.
Eventually, Lucy was released on Monday evening, after a day~long and intentionally delayed release process, yet all bills had been settled.
RAPE CONFIRMED
Angry and emotionally hurt, Lucy immediately proceeded to Nairobi Women’s Hospital where she underwent urine and gynecologist swap tests.
As earlier suspected, the tests showed traces of semen in her system confirming she had been raped, yet Coptic Hospital’s Discharge Summary mentions nothing about the incident.
The cannula that had been used during the suspicious Monday injection, which she also submitted for scrutiny, tested for cocaine, meaning that she had been injected with the narcotic substance, perhaps to drugs her.
We are in possession of the test results from Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
Lucy then headed home for some rest awaiting to report the case to the police. Unfortunately, she was too weak to go to the police on Tuesday and was only able to do so on Wednesday morning.
KILIMANI POLICE STATION
The case was reported at Kilimani Police Station, where she camped from 11am to 4pm as her statement, and that of her daughter, were taken.
We are in possession of the OB number.
The officers at Kilimani Police Station directed Lucy to come back the following day, Thursday 9th July 2020, to see the Directorate of Criminal Investigation Officer incharge.
When she went back, the DCI officer, Margaret Katei Muthui, listened to her case, and then proceeded to Coptic Hospital and and Nairobi Women’s Hospital to carry out investigations.
By the time of going to press this evening, Friday 10th July 2020, one day later, further communication is to come.
CRY FOR JUSTICE
All now that has been left of Lucy is a weak, devastated and emotionally broken innocent Kenyan mother, struggling with a battle of recurrent cancer, whose drugs leave her completely drained, forced to take post-exposure prophylaxis, (P.E.P.s), as a precautionary measure incase she was infected with HIV during the rape.
At this point, this desperate cry for justice goes out to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, Ministry of Health, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union, FIDA and all other relevant authorities, to intervene and rescue this innocent Kenyan, unapologetically violated in a medical institution, that ought to be at the forefront of safeguarding the health of our citizens, more so during these rough times of COVID~19.
