Mandatory CCTV cameras, limited patient visits, compulsory visitor screening, and routine safety checks are some of the fresh directives issued by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to all national referral hospitals.
Speaking on Monday July 28, Duale ordered national referral hospitals across the country to comply with the requirements immediately or face consequences.
He was speaking at Kenyatta National Hospital, where two patients were murdered in the wards this year. The murders are believed to have been committed by the same person.
Duale also directed the hospitals to limit visitors to two per patient, implement anonymous feedback tools and provide staff training on patients' rights and safety, in an effort to prevent such incidents from happening again.
CS Duale also directed hospitals to work closely with the Ministry of Interior, chiefs, and community leaders to support abandoned patients.
This included tracing families, facilitating dignified discharges, and placing individuals in appropriate care institutions when reintegration is not possible.
This was seemingly in response to the situation surrounding the murder suspect, who is said to have no immediate family members to rely upon, and was forced to temporarily seek shelter at KNH indefinitely.
Speaking during the press briefing at the hospital, Duale said he had convened a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of all national referral facilities to review the gaps and agree on urgent reforms to restore public trust in the health system.
“As a Ministry, we must safeguard the lives, rights, and dignity of all patients. We are committed to ensuring that such a tragedy does not happen again,” said CS Duale.
On Thursday, July 17, Edward Maingi Ndegwa, a male patient who had been admitted to Ward 7B on July 11, 2025, was murdered.
In a statement issued hours after the incident, KNH CEO William Sigilai confirmed that the patient was found dead after visiting hours, at around 2pm.
Initial reports indicate that a nurse checked on the patient on Thursday, July 17, at around 11:30am and took his blood pressure. At 12:30pm, a relative visited and found him stable before leaving the ward at 1:30pm.
Swift intervention from detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) resulted in the arrest of a suspect who was also a patient at the hospital. The suspect is believed to behind the murder of 40-year-old Gilbert Kinyua, who was killed in Ward 7C during the night of February 6–7 this year.
The suspect is currently in police custody, with detectives still conducting their investigations.
