Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai faced tough grilling from MPs over the arrest of 61-year-old Grace Njoki, whose dramatic entry into a Health Ministry meeting at Afya House last week led to her detention.

During a midterm retreat in Naivasha, lawmakers pressed Kimtai to explain the specific offense Njoki had committed when she visited a public office to air grievances over the Social Health Authority (SHA) program.

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah questioned why the government had pursued charges against the  woman demanding clarity on who had filed the complaint.

“We just want to know two or three things. First, who was the complainant for this lady to be arrested? Was it SHA? Was it the ministry? Or was it the police acting on their own volition without investigation, by either SHA or the ministry? If it is the ministry, we want to know what was the complaint against Grace Njoki? Hon. Ichung’wah Posed.

We saw in the paper that she was released on a police bond of Ksh50,000, if you are the complainant, have you withdrawn the complaint? Or is there anything criminal that you are pursuing this lady over?” he added.

The Kikuyu MP criticized the handling of the incident, arguing that the real issue was the failure of security personnel at the ministry.

“If I were you, the first person I would have disciplined or even fired is the security officer at the ministry. Otherwise, you are making a mountain out of a molehill,” Ichung’wah stated.

Ichung’wah, who is also the Kikuyu legislator explained that the lady (Grace Mulei) was just raising concerns, which in the same evening Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) conceded that there was a problem in the system.

In response, PS Kimtai confirmed that the Ministry of Health was the complainant in the case, citing trespassing and causing a disturbance as the charges, an explanation that was met with heckling from a section of women MPs.

Njoki had been arrested at Ladnan Hospital in Eastleigh while seeking treatment. The hospital is owned by Dr. Abdi Mohamed, the chairperson of SHA.

She was charged with causing a disturbance at the Ministry of Health offices and later released on a Ksh10,000 cash bail.

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula weighed in, dismissing the trespassing charge.

“The ministry is a public place. You cannot talk of trespass. If I were in charge, in the interest of the ministry’s image and that of the republic, I would withdraw the complaint,” Wetang’ula said.

Following mounting pressure, PS Kimtai assured lawmakers that the Ministry of Health would drop the case.

“In the interest of the image of the Ministry of Health and the public, the complaint will be withdrawn,” he said.

Njoki’s arrest, which followed her participation in a protest with other patients from Kenyatta National Hospital who entered the Ministry’s boardroom during a press conference by Health CS Deborah Mulongo, sparked widespread condemnation.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) also condemned the incident.

“We will continue raising our voices until the government addresses these issues. President William Ruto must reexamine the challenges facing SHA,” a representative from the LSK stated.

source

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