The nationwide power outage has reportedly left some families mourning their loved ones who were depending on machines for life support.
A couple in Embu is among those who were heartbroken after their newborn baby passed on at the Embu Level V Hospital.
Their newborn baby, who was receiving vital oxygen support, tragically passed away due to the disruption caused by the Friday, August 25 blackout.
The father expressed his grievance via a social media post on Saturday, August 26, revealing the heart-wrenching impact of the incident on their family.
According to the father, the newborn had issues lactating and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for infants.
"The oxygen supply was halted since the Embu General Hospital couldn't run backup generators the whole night. More than three infants in the nursery unfortunately lost their lives," the aggrieved father, whose details could not be shared in this article, lamented.
"I am sad right now as I head home with a heavy heart. I don't know what I will tell my wife," the distraught father added.
Through human rights activist Boniface Mwangi, the father disclosed that the parents of the deceased infants were asked to pay Ksh200 for death permits.
"I met other parents at the hospital and we all paying Ksh200 for a burial permit since their infants also passed away yesterday night and today morning," he revealed.
Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire was caught in the crossfire after she was accused of failing to take action against the hospital.
Mbarire acknowledged that she was aware of the power disruptions at the hospital. However, she clarified that one death was reported at the facility rather than three as alleged.
The death recorded in the last 48 hours, she added, was not also linked to the power outage as reported on social media pages. Mbarire attributed the demise of the baby born at 21 weeks to premature birth.
"There were 20 deliveries, among them eight born through cesarean section. All the babies are in absolute good health," she added.
The County boss revealed that the hospital had five standby and functional generators, and the nationwide outage did not interfere with operations as alleged.
She urged the public to avoid consuming misinformation published online and invited activist Mwangi to get in touch with the Department of Health to verify the reports.
The impact of the blackout extended beyond Embu Level V Hospital. At the Kenyatta National Hospital, medical professionals were captured on video working tirelessly in the midst of darkness, highlighting the widespread challenges caused by the power outage.
Nandi Senator Samson Cheragei advocated for backup generators in crucial sectors like hospitals and airports in efforts to address the outage.
"The countrywide blackout was very unfortunate whilst emergencies happen, the preparedness to address the emergency should be top-notch, especially on our critical national installations such as hospitals, airports by providing standby generators which did not happen then heads must roll," he stated.
Parliament also summoned Kenya Power boss Joseph Siror and Energy CS Davis Chirchir to explain the cause of the nationwide outage.
