NAIROBI, Kenya – Detectives have launched a murder investigation after a male patient was found dead with his throat slit inside a ward at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), raising fresh concerns over patient safety at the country’s top public referral hospital.
The shocking incident occurred on Thursday, July 17, in Ward Seven. Police and hospital officials confirmed that the victim, a physically disabled man, was discovered lifeless in his bed by fellow patients who said an intruder had accessed the ward during the night.
Top officers from the Kilimani Police Division, including Commander Patricia Yegon and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) head Hussein Mahat, spent the afternoon at the scene, piecing together clues in what Mahat described as a “murder case.”
“We are treating this as a homicide. No arrests have been made yet, but investigations are ongoing,” Mahat told reporters.
Police are currently reviewing CCTV footage from the hospital to establish how the assailant entered the ward undetected.
While the hospital has surveillance in all corridors, there are no cameras installed inside patient rooms, officials said, citing privacy regulations.
KNH has yet to issue an official statement, but a hospital official confirmed that the matter is under investigation and a briefing would be provided once preliminary findings are complete.
Second Similar Murder at KNH This Year
Thursday’s killing mirrors another grisly incident at KNH earlier this year. On February 7, 39-year-old Gilbert Kinyua Muthoni was found dead in his hospital bed with his throat cut.
An autopsy revealed a deep, fatal wound to the neck and blisters on his back, suggesting he had not been repositioned for several hours — a standard requirement in patient care.
Despite extensive investigations — including DNA analysis, patient and staff interviews, and CCTV footage reviews — police have yet to make arrests in that case.
Detectives said at the time there was no evidence the assailant had come from outside the hospital.
History of Violence in the Wards
The latest incident marks the third time in under a decade that a patient has been murdered inside KNH.
In November 2015, 42-year-old Cosmas Mutunga Kenyatta was found dead in Ward 8C, having suffered 42 stab wounds, a fractured skull, gouged eyes, and a shattered leg.
Mutunga, a father of four, had been admitted for cancer treatment. The only potential witness — a 12-year-old patient in the ward — was unable to communicate due to disability. That case remains unsolved.
Security experts say the repeated killings highlight serious lapses in patient safety protocols at Kenya’s largest and busiest hospital, which handles thousands of patients daily.
