Health workers’ representatives want individuals who made decisions to hold a suspected murder suspect at Kenyatta National Hospital to take full responsibility for the death of a patient at the facility.

The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) and Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU) have questioned why the facility allowed admission of a suspect, knowing he was a capital offender.

“Hospitals are not places of holding criminals,” said KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atella. People who made the decision should take full responsibility”.

KNUN Secretary-General Seth Panyako said the individual in question was not a patient and, if he were indeed in need of care, should have undergone a mental health evaluation and been referred to a secure psychiatric facility such as Mathare Hospital.

“This is a clear case of institutional negligence,” said Panyako.

The suspect, according to the hospital, was admitted to the facility in November 2022 and taken to Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

He would be treated and discharged to the ordinary ward, but he was homeless.

In June 2024, the hospital secured him a home, where he was discharged, only to be admitted back to the referral hospital in December 2024 and discharged in January 2025.

But recently, he was linked to the murder of Gilbert Kinyua, with the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) flagging him as a prime suspect.

It is then that the DCI requested the hospital to hold him pending the conclusion of investigation.

While holding him, the suspect was reported to have allegedly murdered a second patient, who was admitted at Ward 7B on July 11, 2025.

But nurses have dismissed the explanation, saying admission is the role of a medical officer.

The medical officer, he said, examines a patient and decides on where to be admitted and which treatment to get.

Panyako claimed the suspect could be a criminal who was held at KNH.

“We could be dealing with a serial killer being housed in the hospital under suspicious circumstances,” observed the SG.

He added, “KNH and the admitting doctor were fully aware that the suspect was not only a danger to other patients but also to healthcare workers.”

By the suspect having been linked to a previous murder at the facility, Panyako said the admitting doctor and hospital management should have known he was dangerous.

“Having a suspected capital offender admitted in a hospital might have been a case of corruption. Is it that he was admitted in hospital to prevent him from suffering in police cells,” said Panyako.

But in a quick rejoinder, doctors’ representative Attelah said it is the role of the security agents, the government and the hospital management to guarantee safety of healthcare providers and patients.

“Security of a patient is not guaranteed by a doctor,” said Attelah. “The problem is the hospital.”

Attelah said hospital management should assure providers of their safety. “Are doctors and anyone working at the hospital safe in the environment? He questioned. This is our concern,” said Attellah. 

A source at the facility who requested anonymity said the patient was in a special room at the facility.

“The patient was in a special room after being re-admitted following DCI’s request. He secretly sneaked out of the room, and murdered the patient at room 7B,” said the source.

The insider added, “The suspect left his room for a toilet, only to get to the ward where he killed a patient”.