Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was on Tuesday forced to pay Sh185,000 medical bill after hundreds of youth stormed into Nazareth Hospital mortuary demanding the release of the body of a man who had been detained for close to a month.
Led by MCAs Mwaura Samora and Nancy Monyangi, the youth stormed the morgue demanding the release of John Mwangi's body who succumbed to illness after being hospitalized for three months.
According to Ms Monyangi, the bill had accumulated and was too much for the deceased's family and the residents to pay.
"We, therefore, decided to storm the morgue and take the body by force,"she stated.
The hospital on its part remained steadfast and vowed not to release the body until the bill was settled.
[caption caption="Mike Sonko at a previous operation"]
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At this point, the area MCAs decided to call the Nairobi Governor and requested him to settle the bill.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the Director of governor's press service Joab Mwaura confirmed the incident indicating that the matter was handled by Sonko Rescue Team, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
Nazareth Hospital administrator Mwangi noted that the family left the deceased in the hospital when he was in bad shape.
Mwangi further stated that the hospital treated and discharged him but the family never picked him until his demise.
"It was recently when Mwangi approached us with Kshs 2,000, but the bill had accumulated to Sh170,000. We asked for an increase, but instead, they stormed the hospital accompanied by many other people," he conveyed.
[caption caption="Mike Sonko at his offices"]
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He noted that the tension remained high even after Sonko footed the bill as they couldn't wait for money sent via bank to be accredited to the health facility's account.
