NAIROBI, Kenya — Grace Njoki, a nurse turned vocal patient advocate, has revealed shocking details about her arrest following her bold interruption of Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa’s press briefing last week.
The incident, which unfolded at Afya House, has sparked intense debate over the treatment of whistleblowers in Kenya’s healthcare system.
Njoki, who was arrested at Ladnan Hospital in Pangani while collecting medical results for her heart condition, described her ordeal as an “abduction” rather than an arrest.
CCTV footage exposes how police dramatically arrested Grace Njoki and dragged her out of Ladnan Hospital
She maintains her actions stemmed from a desire to defend patients’ rights and expose inefficiencies within Kenya’s healthcare system.
Speaking to journalists at Capitol Hill Police Station in Nairobi after being released on a Sh10,000 police bail, Njoki recounted the dramatic sequence of events.
While at the hospital, she noticed a familiar face—one of the security operatives present during her protest at Afya House.
“I saw him and panicked. He claimed he was visiting a patient, but I sensed I was being followed,” Njoki said.
Minutes later, the officer returned with reinforcements, demanding she leave the hospital with them.
Despite her protests and requests for clarification, Njoki was forcibly removed from the hospital by over 20 officers. “They manhandled me, dragged me out, and confiscated my phone.
“I am just a nurse who hates seeing patients suffer because of SHA,” Grace Njoki says after being freed on Ksh. 10,000 police bail #FreeGraceMulei
I was driven around town to multiple locations before ending up at Capitol Hill Police Station,” she said.
Njoki insists her actions at the press briefing were not politically motivated but rather a desperate plea for better healthcare services.
“I’m not a political leader. I’m a nurse fighting for patients who have no voice,” she stated passionately.
Her critique of the Social Health Authority (SHA) is pointed: inefficiencies, mismanagement of funds, and inadequate care are placing lives at risk.
“Give patients their rights. Let them get proper treatment. Stop taking money without delivering care,” she demanded.
Njoki’s ordeal raises questions about the treatment of activists and whistleblowers in Kenya, particularly those highlighting systemic flaws in public institutions.
