• Wesley Momanyi, a barber in Mbungoni, Nyali, was opening his shop at 10am when police arrested him for a Covid infraction and detained him for more than10 hours.
• At 5pm his wife called saying their two-week-old baby boy needed to be taken to hospital. But he was in a cell and didn't have Sh1,000 he said police demanded to set him free.
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A barber has said his two-week-old baby died because he was locked in a Nyali police cell over a Covid-19 infraction and didn't have Sh1,000 for his release.
So he couldn't get his firstborn to hospital in time to save his life.
Barber Wesley Momanyi called it a Covid shakedown and blamed Mbungoni police for his son's death. He said they wouldn't listen to his pleas to be allowed to take his baby to hospital.
The infant had developed breathing problems on Saturday and had to be hospitalised. Momanyi said he didn't have the Sh1,000 necessary to secure his release. So he couldn't help his son.
The infant died of pneumonia.
His crime-infraction: No handwashing station. He said he was just opening shop and it hadn't been set up yet, but he had hand sanitiser.
The police took him to Mbungoni police post. He is the only breadwinner in the family.
Momanyi, 32, was opening his barbershop at 10am on Saturday when police arrived.
“They asked where my handwashing station was because I had not yet taken it out. I told them I had sanitizer for clients. They arrested me,” a teary Momanyi said at his house on Sunday.
The police ordered him to close shop, took him to the police post and detained him.
At about 5pm, he told the Star, his wife called saying their two-week-old baby boy was sick and needed to be taken to hospital.
“I explained this to the officers but they would hear none of it. They told me to call my people so they could come and get me out, or I would spend the night there," Momanyi said.
At 8pm, one of his loyal clients called. When he found out the barber was detained, he rushed there, talked to police and gave them Sh1,000, Momanyi said.
The police released him.
“When I got home, I was told my baby had been taken to Beyondscope Hospital in Bakarani," the barber said. Somehow, his wife had managed to get help.
But doctors said the baby had breathing problems and had to be admitted to the ICU at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital.
They got to CGTRH at 11pm, the baby was admitted and put on oxygen.
“At around 12am my baby closed his eyes and was gone,” Momanyi said.
They went home with the baby’s body.
On Sunday morning, Momanyi went back to the Mbungoni police post to report his son’s death, blaming the police officers for it.
“Had I been around when my baby started crying, I would have taken him to hospital immediately. But I was in a cell at a police post because I had no money on me then,” the barber said.
“I realised the police were only interested in money because all the arrested people were released after parting with some money," Momanyi said.
The baby was buried on Sunday at Mkunazini cemetery in Soweto, Mbungoni.
Nyali subcounty police commander Daniel Masaba told the Star the matter is under investigation.
“I have sent Mwatamba police station OCS to investigate but from the preliminary reports I have, can the police really be linked [to the death]?” Masaba asked.
He said once he gets the full report, he will issue a comprehensive statement.
Muslims for Human Rights rapid response officer Francis Auma said police are culpable because they value money more than life.
“Police can be indirectly linked to the death because they arrested a man for flimsy reasons because they wanted a bribe,” Auma said.
He said there are many cases in which police abuse their authority to extort money from citizens.
“If they were humane enough to release the man so he could attend to the emergency, maybe the infant’s life could have been saved,” Auma said.
He said many police officers are using the Covid-19 pandemic to make money.
“Police posts are worse than police stations. They bring about corruption because most of the time they are not monitored effectively,” Auma said.
(Edited by V. Graham)