KMPDU secretary accuses Sonko of politicising Pumwani infant deaths

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary Alex Thuranira has accused Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of politicising the death of infants at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi.

Governor Sonko on Monday made an impromptu visit at the maternity hospital where he found bodies of 12 infants placed in paper bags.

The governor claimed he made the surprise visit after receiving reports that the hospital management “shut down machines at the maternity wing leading to loss of lives of young ones.”

However, speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Dr. Thuranira said the Pumwani Maternity Hospital is facing a serious crisis, which he partly blamed on the Nairobi County Government.

“Pumwani should not be run by the county office, a governor who is politicising everything, that’s unfortunate,” said Dr. Thuranira.

According to the KMPDU secretary, the Pumwani Maternity Hospital is major health facility that should be operated by the national government and not county administration.

“In this day and era, Pumwani Hospital, being the biggest maternity hospital in East and Central Africa should be run by the national government,” said Dr Thuranira.

The KMPDU official noted that the discovery of infant corpses at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital is not an extraordinary occurrence since the hospital lacks a mortuary.

He noted that the doctors union had been pushing for the set up of a mortuary at Pumwani hospital even before the current administration took office.

“Two years ago we were on the streets championing for these issues. While Kidero was the governor he was aware of these issues. Money was set aside to build a mortuary at Pumwani hospital… Where has it gone? Land is there… People are not making concrete decisions that need to be made,” said Dr. Thuranira.

“Pumwani has two ambulances. One broke down in an accident a year ago and is now grounded. The other one is being used to transport students to go to Kiambu District Hospital for studies as well as transport bodies to City Mortuary. There is a serious problem in Pumwani.”