18/03/2026
No parent should experience baby loss because of failed systems.
We have failed so much as a country.
.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED ITS OWN PEOPLE. A NEWBORN LOST AT MARGARET KENYATTA HOSPITAL.
Let’s be honest: we do not have a functioning healthcare system. A close family member lost their newborn baby at Margaret Kenyatta Hospital. The circumstances are nothing short of heartbreaking and point to criminal negligence. The baby was born during an emergency caesarean at Mimosa Cottage, Marurui, on 11th March 2026, weighing a healthy 3kg. For the first six hours, things seemed fine. The baby was placed on oxygen, but the hospital lacked the facilities to handle the escalating case.
The baby was referred to Margaret Kenyatta Hospital on 13th March 2026, where the situation turned into a nightmare. There was zero preparedness for intensive neonatal care and no proper equipment available. The baby developed Respiratory Distress Syndrome and urgently needed a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. The hospital did not have one.
Cruelty Instead of Care:
The hospital staff offered no help with the referral. Instead, they told the family to "look for an Intensive Care Unit that can handle it." The father was forced to call hospitals himself to find a bed for his critically ill newborn. He spent the entire night Googling and calling every major government hospital in Nairobi. None of them had space. Private hospitals were no better, demanding massive upfront deposits before even considering admission:
1. Nairobi West: KES 250,000
2. Savannah: KES 200,000
3. Radiant Hospital KES 200,000
4. St. Francis Kasarani: KES 200,000
5. Mother and Child Hospital Eastleigh: KES 150,000 (despite having no ICU)
While the baby fought for her life, the nurses allegedly slept through the night. The mother, fresh from surgery, had to wake up every two hours to check on her child because the oxygen mask kept detaching. She was the one who had to go and wake the nurses for help.
In a moment no parent should ever endure, the baby was removed from the oxygen and handed back to the mother. The nurse told her to "confirm the baby is still breathing," so she couldn't later claim she was handed a dead infant. When the baby passed, the nurses simply scripted it as an "emergency case" and walked away. This isn't just the failure of one hospital; it is the failure of the entire system, including SHA. It is a scam.
A mother survives surgery only to be left alone to fight for her baby’s life. A father is left begging for a hospital bed by Googling hospital phone numbers, only to be told the baby’s life can’t be saved without paying a huge cash deposit. The parents buried the baby girl yesterday at Langata Cemetery.
This is the reality for the ordinary Kenyan citizen. We demand better. Our people deserve better.
