The family of a nine-year-old girl who was knocked down by a Bungoma county vehicle is crying foul over the manner in which the case is being handled.
Kilobi Patience was hit near a police roadblock in Ndengelwa on April 1 by a car belonging to the Ministry of Livestock. The police took the girl to Bungoma Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue thinking she was dead.
But mortuary attendants discovered she was still alive. The police then took her to Bungoma West Hospital where she is detained after accruing a Sh1.4 million bill.
The girl's mother Elizabeth Barasa said her daughter, who is a pupil at Sunny Junior Academy, was involved in an accident while going to school.
"She was examined at Bungoma West Hospital and was found to have fractured both hands and some ribs. She also suffered internal bleeding," Barasa said.
Efforts by the Star to get a comment from the county government were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages sent to director of communications Tim Machi's phone went unanswered.
Bungoma police boss Wilson Nanga on Wednesday told the Star in his office the accident was reported and the police are still carrying out investigations.
"The problem is the family has no witnesses. However, we are probing the issue and the county driver will be charged," he said.
Barasa said her daughter has been detained by the hospital despite being discharged because the family is unable to clear her bill.
"I have no job and my family can’t afford the amount. The county officials have been promising to intervene in vain," she said
When the Star visited patience in hospital she said her desire is to go back to school.
“I don’t want to be here yet my classmates are in school learning. I want to study hard and become a doctor," she said.
Barasa said although Bungoma West Hospital had discharged her daughter, she has been told to take the girl to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for further specialised treatment. However, that will only be done after the bill is settled.
The mother complained about the slow pace of the police investigations. Barasa said over a month after the accident, the county driver has not been charged.
The vehicle that had been detained at Bungoma police station was released. Nanga said the car was inspected by the National Transport and Safety Authority.
Edited by Pamela Wanambisi
