Police in Mombasa are investigating the circumstances under which a woman delivered a baby boy only to be handed a dead child four days later.
Mercy Masambaga delivered a baby boy at Portriez Hospital on February 26 but the medical staff discovered the child was underweight and needed specialized medical care, directing that the child be transferred to the Coast General and Referral Hospital the same day in the company of his father Julius Kimeli.
The family claims they were handed a baby girl on March 1 and after pressing for more information they were told that their baby died on February 27 and the body preserved at the Hospital’s mortuary.
“Waliniletea mtoto msichana nikawaambia mtoto wangu ni wa kiume,” Masambaga told Citizen Digital.
“Walianza kusema mtoto wangu alifariki tarehe 27, nikawaambia tarehe 27 niliambiwa niende nikanunue pampers. Itakuwaje wakaniambia we nenda ukae alafu wakakawia zaidi ya saa moja ndio wanasema alikufa?”
Kimeli, visited the mortuary the following day to confirm his concerns and denied that the dead baby was theirs.
“Kama kweli mtoto alikuwa ni mgonjwa mbona hawakuniambia kule Portriez ambapo niliuliza na wakasema ni yuko underweight pekee yake?” posed Kimeli.
The couple engaged the police, who have since taken charge of the matter to help establish what transpired.
Coast General Hospital CEO Iqbal Khandwalla has since refuted the family’s claims saying he is aware of the matter and DNA samples were taken Thursday as investigations continue.
