Three Shalom Hospital Staff Charged over Death of 7-Month-Old Baby Ethan

Three Shalom Hospital employees have on Thursday been arraigned in court over the death of a seven-month-old baby at the facility on Sunday.

The three are Vincent Njau Nganga, Irene Katete Mutinda, and Odhiambo Kennedy.

Appearing before Senior Resident Magistrate Irene Kahuya, the three suspects have been charged with manslaughter, recklessness and handling poisonous medicine without the laid out procedures.

The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been released on Sh500,000 bond plus a surety of a similar amount.

Baby Ethan Muendo died after he was reportedly injected with a dose of morphine that was 20 times more than the required amount.

His death led to the shutdown of the scandal-ridden health facility. The hospital was in the spot a few weeks ago after a woman allegedly gave birth on the floor as nurses watched and enjoyed their tea.

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) Chairman Fredrick Were said the baby was supposed to be given the drug orally and not through a jab.

“The child went drowsy, went home sleepy and was brought back still very sleepy and in that process of time the child was lost,” said Prof. Were.

The child had been taken to the hospital after scalding his hand with hot water from a dispenser.