KNH On The Spot After Doctor Robbed Within Its Facility

A female doctor took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, January 1 to expose a case where her phone was allegedly and violently snatched by a robber within the premises of the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi.

In a series of posts, the doctor going by the moniker Addy Wambui narrated that she was leaving the KNH main theatre at exactly 7.37 pm on New Year's Day when the thief snatched her phone.

"Today on the first day of the new year, at exactly 7.37 pm while leaving the theatre my phone got snatched violently by a thief right outside the KNH main theatre," she wrote in part.

Patients walking outside Kenyatta National Hospital accident and emergency entrance. /FILE

Wambui lamented the security situation at the country's major hospital and though the premises was still robust with activity at the time, she was robbed within the precincts of her workplace, where she was from 8 am.

"Which begs the question, Are you safe in Kenyatta National Hospital? As a doctor, as a nurse, any medic really coming for work. You as a patient are you safe? As a relative coming to visit your patient does KNH assure you of your safety?" she posed.

She further expressed worry for healthcare providers working at KNH going for night shifts running the risk of being attacked by suspected robbers to the point of being assaulted or stabbed on their way to work.

According to Wambui, there have also been cases of female patients being assaulted while at KNH. This prompted her to question whether or not she or other patients and their relatives were safe while at the hospital.

"Does KNH expect me to comfortably dispense my duties and attend to patients after this incident? Do they expect me to respond to night calls comfortably after this?

"Because if I'm getting robbed at 7.30 pm, imagine what could go wrong at 2 am?" she worried.

She lamented losing an iPhone 14 pro max that she had for less than six months, expressing concern at the glaring safety issue of her colleagues at KNH and patients along the corridors. Currently, the phone is valued at up to Ksh255,000.

The following day, on Tuesday, January 2, she was informed that she had to find someone to fill in for her as she planned to follow up on the matter with the police as well as how she could be called to return to her place of work for her duties.

"Post robbery day 1 - LOL,  calls work to let them know I will not be going to the theatre in the morning because of line replacement, police etc, I'm told I can only take the day off if I find someone to cover my duties.

"Also informed of how I need to find a way to be reached so that I can dispense my duties, moreso over the weekend when I'm covering. Bro, I got robbed at around 7.30 pm and you want me to be available to get robbed again. Also, I have no money to replace phones stolen at work," she posted.

The incident raised concerns among X users who feared that action would not be eventually taken as thieves and robbers in Nairobi have begun relying on more daring tactics to rob residents of their wares.

KNH was yet to respond to Wambui's ordeal by the time of publishing this story.