Health Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai has finally given in to the mounting pressures and agreed to withdraw a case filed against Grace Njoki Mulei, the woman who stormed the Afya House press briefing in Nairobi.
Kimtai agreed to withdraw the case while appearing before lawmakers who are attending the ongoing National Assembly mid-term retreat in Naivasha.
This came after some lawmakers pressured him to explain why the patient was subjected to suffering despite merely exercising her freedom of speech.
Njoki became a sensation after storming the press briefing that the Ministry of Health was holding to update Kenyans on the Universal Health Coverage uptake.
She stormed the briefing demanding answers on why health practitioners at Kenyatta National Hospital were taking them in circles on the procedures to follow on the use of the Social Health Authority(SHA) services.
''We are not the only ones who have come, several others are waiting for us at the gate. We have walked into the offices of NHIF, the ICT department, and all other offices on these floors. They are not helping us,'' shouted a visibly angered Njoki during the briefing.
However, things took a different twist for her when she got picked up by persons who identified themselves as officers attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on the evening of Thursday, January 23.
The drama at Afya House prompted Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) to issue a statement on the Social Health Authority (SHA), acknowledging delays in the system.
In a statement by the hospital's Chief Executive Officer Evanson Kamuri, KNH admitted to a lapse in its systems but assured the public that the issue had been resolved by Wednesday.
The lawmakers also took issue with SHA boss Mohamed Abdi over the system failure and issues raised by Kenyans on the system.
Suba North MP and Minority Whip Millie Odhiambo also criticised the government for its handling of Njoki during the retreat.
''MPs are very annoyed at the way that lady was treated, she was simply a sick person who was seeking health support. Out of frustration which has been acknowledged by the Ministry that the system was not working, so she went there to show her frustration,'' Odhiambo stated.
