NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 31 – Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai was at pains to explain the circumstances surrounding a complaint against 61-year-old Grace Njoki who dramatically stormed Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa’s meeting at Afya House last week, leading to her arrest.
During a midterm retreat in Naivasha, Members of Parliament pressed the PS to clarify the specific offense Njoki had committed when she visited a public office to express her frustrations over the failures of the Social Health Authority (SHA) program.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah set the tone by asking the Ministry of Health officials to clarify who had filed the complaint against Mulei and what the alleged crime was.
“We just want to know two or three things. First, who was the complainant for this lady to be arrested? Was it SHA? Was it the ministry? Or was it the police acting on their own volition without investigation by either SHA or the ministry? If it is the ministry, we want to know what the complaint against Grace Njoki?” Ichung’wah Posed.
“We saw in the paper that she was released on a police bond of Sh50,000, if you are the complainant, have you withdrawn the complaint? Or is there anything criminal that you are pursuing this lady over? Lastly, the altercation we saw was at the Ministry’s boardroom, if I were you, the first person I would have charged or even fired was the security person at the ministry, otherwise, you are just creating a mountain out of a molehill, on something very small,” he added.
Ichung’wah, who is also the Kikuyu legislator explained that the lady (Grace Mulei) was just raising concerns, and later on, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) conceded that there was a problem in the system.
“Systems are bound to have errors and mistakes every now and then,” he held.
In response, PS Kimtai confirmed that the Ministry of Health was the complainant in the case, a sentiment which sparked sharp reactions from several lawmakers.
“The MOH is the complaint over the case, and the offense is trespass and causing commotion,” he said amid heckling from a section of women MPs.
Grace Mulei made headlines last week after her dramatic arrest at Ladlan Hospital in Eastleigh, where she had gone to seek treatment.
Social Health Authority (SHA) chairperson Abdi Mohamed is the chairperson where she was arrested.
She was charged with causing a disturbance at the Ministry of Health’s offices and was later released on a Sh10,000 cash bail.
“In the interest of the image of the Ministry of Health and the public, the Ministry will withdraw the complaint,” PS Kimtai assured the lawmakers.
Mulei’s arrest, which followed her participation in a protest with other patients from Kenyatta National Hospital who entered the Ministry’s boardroom during a press conference by Health CS Deborah Mulongo, sparked widespread condemnation.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) also condemned the incident.
“We will continue raising our voices until the government addresses these issues. President William Ruto must reexamine the challenges facing SHA,” a representative from the LSK stated.
