Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has given in depth details of the events that led to the standoff that he was involved in at a hospital in Nairobi.
A video went viral on social media on Thursday night showing Mwangi in an altercation with the staff at the hospital. It was alleged that he was drunk and had destroyed hospital equipment.
In a statement on Friday, Mwangi admitted that he was the person in the viral video. According to him, they were taken to the hospital by a good Samaritan after being involved in a road accident on August 21, 2022.Â
“In the early morning hours of August 21, 2022 my wife and I were involved in a road accident along Langata Road. We were passengers in a friend’s car when another motorist veered into our lane while speeding and hit our car, which flipped. We landed upside down and the first people on the scene robbed us of our personal effects. Luckily, a good Samaritan couple, Eddu Rono and his wife, Koskey Yuniscah, came to our rescue and took us to a hospital,” the activist explained.
Having lost their personal belongings including money, the hospital declined to attend to his wife demanding that he had to pay first thus leading to the fiery exchange of words and destruction of equipment.
“When we got there, my wife was in pain, in a state of delirium, and was in and out of consciousness. The hospital wanted me to pay in order for my wife to get treatment but I had neither the money, nor my wallet. Emergency health care is a right in the Constitution (Article 43(2)) and in my desperation to get the hospital management to attend to my wife beyond taking her vitals and giving her painkillers, I ended up raising my voice, breaking some things, and causing a scene,” Mwangi narrated.
Eventually, his wife was able to get medical attention after one of their friends came to the hospital and paid the bill. He was however arrested and jailed at the Akila Police Station.
“The actions that I took to get my wife medical attention were wrong and I apologized. I paid for all the damages that I had caused. The hospital demanded KES 106,000.00, which l paid. I reached out to the people who were working at the reception at the time of the incident and apologized to them. Having fully recovered, my wife is back to work,” Mwangi said.
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