On Wednesday, a pregnant Kenyan woman who had been turned away from the Kitengela Sub-County Hospital because she lacked Sh1,000 gave birth by the side of the road in Noonkopir, Kenya.

Mary Wanjiro, who was expecting her second child, claimed she gave birth to a dead child after suffering through agonizing pains since Tuesday night when she went to the hospital.

“I went to the Kitengela sub-county hospital on Tuesday and arrived there at 8 pm when amniotic fluid started flowing.

“I asked the nurses to admit me, but they refused to listen,” said Wanjiro.

Wanjiro said she was forced to sleep on a bench outside the wards in the cold until Wednesday morning when staff demanded Sh1,000 before she could be seen.

I had no money. I tried telling them that my husband would bring the money, but they insisted that without the Sh1,000 I would not be admitted.

Speaking further, she disclosed that she travelled home to Noonkopir after being chased out at 10 a.m. but when she neared her house, she ran out of energy and was forced to sleep by the roadside. 

She stated that while she was falling, the baby came out but was already dead.

Mary Wanjiro with her dead baby on a roadside in Noonkopir, Kitengela. Image Credit: The Star. 

“There was no one to assist me and in the process, I lost my baby,” said Wanjiro.

Dr Veronica Abuto, the hospital’s Medical Officer of Health, stated that she reviewed the list of all patients and expecting moms but could not find her name on the list. 

“I just wonder why she was not booked if it is true that she was here last night.

“We do not ask for Sh1000. This is complicated because we do not have her name here,” said Abuto.

Wanjiro insisted on identifying all of the nurses who spoke to her on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

According to reports, by the time reporters arrived at the scene around 5 p.m., the infant’s body was still lying close to the lady on Noonkopir Road.

A Crowd surged around Mary Wanjiro in Noonkopir after police officers arrived at the scene in Noonkopir, Kitengela. Image Credit: The Star. 

Wanjiro stated that the police were summoned at lunchtime but had not arrived by 4.30 p.m.