Three lawmakers, on Wednesday, November 18, responded to a story by the Nation claiming that they had demanded a hotline to choppers.
The paper had indicated that the MPs made the demand after it emerged that the late Matungu MP Justus Murunga had passed on while being taken to the Hospital.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, in a statement claimed that only one MP made the demand while others were asking for improvement of services.
"The biggest threat to a democracy is a sensationalized electorate that is ill informed. I rarely agree with our noisy neighbours but only one MP spoke about choppers.
"Majority dwelt on the improvement of facilities at the sub-county for all. Of course, that would be boring to report," stated Sakaja.
Appearing to differ with Sakaja, Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo, however, claimed that the lawmakers deserved the vitriol before later noting that the one MP made them appear greedy.
"We (the MPs)are demanding for helicopter evacuation, while my friends in KMPDU (Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union) are asking for allowances and Protective gear for doctors trying to save COVID patients. We deserve the vitriol directed at us by the Public.
"That one person is making all of us to appear insensitive," argued Kilonzo.
Kwale Woman Representative Zuleikha Hassan, on her part, maintained that only one lawmaker was insensitive enough to request standby choppers for ailing MP's.
"Senator, this was one MP. Majority MPs spoke in support of improved health care. Let's not fall into the trap of the media loving sensationalism. Why didn’t they mention the other nation-building contributions on the topic?" she questioned.
Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi, while making his contributions in Parliament, had also asked that ambulances be availed for lawmakers residing within Nairobi and its environs.
"We're requesting, and I have managed to talk to the Clerk of the National Assembly about this, that we should be given a hotline number to helicopter services just in case.
"Murunga's family spent 30 minutes to get to the nearest well equipped facility. This means that there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed," he stated.
Murunga could not be admitted at the Matungu Sub-County Hospital because the facility lacked oxygen.
His family then opted to transfer him to St Mary's Hospital about 10 Kilometers away, but his condition deteriorated within 20 minutes that he was driven to the facility and was pronounced dead on arrival.
