A senior officer at the county government of Kilifi has died.
James Angore, 64, died at around 8 pm on Thursday after collapsing inside a toilet in his office.
Until his death, Angore was the county director for Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE).
Kilifi county executive committee member Gabriel Katana said Angore had reported for duty in good health.
“He spent the whole day in his office till around 7.45 pm. I was also in my office finishing up some work. While I was walking out of my office I saw a staff who called for help to get the director out of the toilet. We helped him out and took him to the elevator so that we could rush him to hospital,” Katana said.
The executive said by then, Angore could stand on his feet though he had difficulty in breathing.
“While in the elevator things became worse and he could no longer support himself. We took him to Agha Khan Hospital in Kilifi but the facility was closed because it only operates during the day,” Katana said.
He was later rushed to Mwananchi nursing and maternity home where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Katana said Angore had complained that he had pain in his legs.
“He went to see a doctor a week ago and the prescription he was given made him develop breathing problems. He went to the doctor again and was given a different prescription. He had never revealed to me if he had any other problem,” Katana said.
The director's younger brother, Peter Angore, said the deceased had no history of high blood pressure or diabetes.
He said he developed the complications after taking the medicine to treat his legs.
“He started breathing heavily last week but all along he has been a healthy person. His death came as a shock to me because he has all along been fine,” said Peter.
A staff
member at the Education department said Angore was working under pressure to beat a work deadline.
“There was a report on ECD he was to deliver on Friday to the county secretary. That’s why he had to work late. The workload could be one of the reasons for his death,” said the staff who sort anonymity.
Angore's body was taken to Kilifi county hospital mortuary and later moved to Star Hospital mortuary in Malindi awaiting postmortem.
He is survived by a widow, 8 children and 4 grandchildren.