It’s a virtual burial for body held in morgue over Sh18m bill
A memorial service usually precedes a burial, but for a family in Kiambu that lost their child to cancer last month, all they can do for now is mourn their son without the right to bury him.
This is after a hospital refused to release the body until they clear a Sh17.9 million bill.
After a month of pleading with Gertrude’s Children Hospital, Nairobi, to allow them to bury Brian Kimani Njoroge, who succumbed to leukemia on February 29, the family decided to hold a memorial service which they described as a “virtual funeral” to honour their son as they struggle to raise the money to pay up.
His father, Stephen Njoroge, could not hold back his tears at the memorial service held at Gatuikira ACK church in Kiambaa sub-county as he pleaded with the government and well wishers to help him raise the money so that he can finally bury his son.
“We have been through hell and back but God will see us through,” he said.
Elizabeth Mugure, an aunt of the deceased, described Brian as their “little warrior”, saying he fought the disease courageously.
Narrating the family’s ordeal, Njoroge said his son started feeling unwell in 2018 and was taken to the Kijabe Mission Hospital where he diagnosed with leukemia.
Brian, who would have been a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination candidate this year, was transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment where he was admitted for two-and-a-half months.
But when his condition started worsening, they transferred him to Gertrude’s Children Hospital, Nairobi, where he stabilised in the one-and-a-half months of admission.
Shift goal posts
Brian, a budding gospel musician who recorded one Swahili gospel number, Shetani Atashindwa, was then flown to India for further treatment.
His younger brother Stephen Kinuthia and sister Tiffany Wanjiku moved the mourners when they belted out the lyrics at the memorial service.
“Life will never be the same again from the time you left us,” Kinuthia eulogised his brother.
His father said he spent nine months in India during which two bone marrow transplants were conducted to save Brian’s life. “The process saw us using more money than we had anticipated,” said Njoroge.
They raised Sh6 million for the first transplant and an additional Sh7 million for the repeat plasma exchange where the father was the donor.
The boy, who is the family’s first born, recovered fully and returned home in May last year to a colourful thanksgiving ceremony.
His mother, Maryann Wanjiku, took him back to school at Jabali Preparatory School community where his classmates were happy to have him back.
Harambee proceeds
Unfortunately, the family’s joy was short-lived because after enjoying only four months of good health, he developed complications associated with his condition and was rushed to Gertrude’s hospital where he was admitted to the facility’s general wards and later at the High Dependency Unit before he was moved to the Intensive Care Unit where he died.
“The medical bill was Sh17.9 million. We engaged the facility to allow us to bury our son but they set tough conditions before they can release the body.
We can hardly raise the money,” said Njoroge, adding that the hospital shifted goal posts after the family paid close to Sh2 million on Monday this week following a funds drive, which was conducted on Sunday.
“We had agreed with the hospital management that they would release the body after we take the harambee proceeds, which was even attended by its representative, but they changed their mind,” he said.
The burial of Brian who was eulogised as a jovial and disciplined child now remains indefinite.
But last evening, Gertrude’s children hospital accused the family of distorting facts on the case and denied claims that it had detained the body.
The hospital through its head of clinical services Dr Thomas Ngwiri said they had agreed with the family to provide it with `a payment plan before they could collect the body for burial scheduled for tomorrow.
“It is therefore, surprising that anybody would claim that the hospital has refused to release the body for a funeral service or burial. The hospital awaits the family for the meeting planned for today March 12, 2020,” Ngwiri said.
