A family in Lunga Lunga is seeking help to offset a huge hospital bill that has prevented them from burying their loved one.
Abel Peter aka Mafia , 28, died at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital on November 9, after spending 10 days in the ICU following an accident caused by the raging rains on October 31.
Peter, a porter at Lunga Lunga market in Kwale county, slipped and fell, hitting his head on a stone on the fateful day as he braved the heavy rains to fend for his family.
He was carrying clients’ sacks in the rains when he fell.
Francis Kioko, a family member, said Peter was rushed to a nearby hospital in Lunga Lunga but doctors could not treat his severe injuries.
“He was referred to Msambweni referral hospital but they, too, could not deal with the injuries and had to refer him to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital,” Kioko said on Tuesday.
He spoke at the Muslims for Human Rights legal aid clinic where they had gone to seek help.
The family said the hospital and mortuary bill had reached in excess of Sh160,000 but the family managed to raise Sh58,000, which went to offsetting part of the huge bill.
“The hospital cannot release the body until the bill is cleared,” Kioko said.
The family is worried that the longer the body stays at the morgue, the bigger the bill gets and they might not be able to offset it.
Josephine Musau, Peter’s mother, said Peter, who has left behind a wife and two daughters, was the sole breadwinner.
“I don’t know who will take care of the children,” Musau said.
She said the family’s household goods were swept away by the raging floods in Mgendini village in Lunga Lunga.
“We would have sold some household things to help raise the money required but now the flood swept everything away,” Musau said.
Jacinta Ndunge, Peter’s aunt, traveled from Makindu in Makueni county to Lunga Lunga to help in the funeral arrangements but found the situation difficult at the homestead.
“We found my sister almost giving up because she did not know what to do. She had tried all she could to raise the money needed but was not successful,” Ndunge said.
Other family members said the mother was contemplating burying a log and forfeiting the body.
“We appeal to any well-wisher to help us raise this bill. We would not like to get to the situation that my sister Musau has contemplated,” Ndunge said.
When contacted, hospital CEO Iqbal Khandwallah said the family should approach a social worker at the hospital and present their case.
"The social worker will be able to assist them where possible," Khandwallah said.
Muslims for Human Rights rapid response officer Francis Auma said county governments must have in place special disaster funds to mitigate on such matters when they occur.
“In fact, this should even be prevented from happening. The other day, Mombasa lost three workers as they tried to unclog a drainage system while it was raining. Why wasn’t this done before the rains yet there was ample time from the first time the weatherman issued an El Nino alert?” Auma said.
He said each county should have a level five hospital so as to reduce the expenses families of the poor have to incur for their loved ones to get treated.
“Why should someone be transported all the way from Lunga Lunga in Kwale county to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital yet the Kwale county government has a governor who receives a huge amount from the National Treasury?” Auma said.
He called on Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir to waive the hospital and mortuary bills for the family to pick their loved one’s body for a decent burial in Lunga Lunga.
He said Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani should speak with her Mombasa counterpart and see how to help the family.
Bradely Ouna, a human rights activist, accused the national government of lying to Kenyans about the El Nino preparedness funds.
He said victims of the El Nino floods should be compensated by both the national and county governments, and blamed them for their failure to put in place necessary mechanisms to prevent death and destruction caused by the floods.
“The government set aside El Nino funds. What happened to the funds?” Ouna said.
