Two employees of the Nairobi City County government attached at the Mbagathi District Hospital have been charged with allegedly engaging in a scheme involving the unauthorized release of a body from the hospital mortuary without adhering to proper procedures.
The suspects, Elizabeth Aoga and Jackline Njagi, were charged alongside Jackline Owino for illegally releasing bodies from the Hospital Morgue.
They all pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, giving false information, and demanding money with menace.
According to the prosecution, the suspects on December 5, obtained money from Ann Mbugua which was intended for clearing the hospital bill of James Mbugua who had died in the said health facility.
Preliminary investigations proved that a case was reported at Mbagathi Hospital concerning the missing body of James Mbugua.
The deceased had a pending a hospital bill of Ksh 61,000 which had accrued during his hospitalisation.
Investigations revealed a coordinated scheme involving the two mortuary attendants, who demanded 30,000 shillings from the deceased’s daughter in exchange for facilitating a waiver of the hospital bill.
Additionally, with the assistance of Jackline Owino from the Health Records Department, they obtained a burial permit and released the body.
During the investigations, another body labeled as James Mbugua was discovered at the hospital, raising questions about the identity of the body that had been released earlier.
The three appeared before Magistrate BenMark Ekhubi where they denied the charges and were released on Ksh 100,000 cash bail each.
