A father who was caught smuggling her daughter out of Kenyatta National Hospital in a carrier bag has been released.
Mr Boniface Murage Wangechi got arrested by security guards as he attempted to evade paying a bill of Sh56, 937.
Bill cleared
The judge released Murage after Kenyans rallied to fundraise the accrued hospital bill. The bill had been cleared at the time of the ruling.
Her young daughter was admitted at the hospital on January 26 and discharged February 11, 2019.
Renowned Kenyan BBC journalist appealed to Kenyans of good will to raise money and also offer pro bono legal services for the poor dad.
Admitted committing felony
Appearing before Nairobi Milimani Law Courts resident magistrate Caroline Muthoni Nzibe, Murage admitted to the charge of attempting to commit the offense.
“It is true. Yes I attempted to go away with my daughter,” he told the court.
“I was fearing that my daughter and my wife, would be detained at KNH for long since I could not raise the hospital bill of Sh56, 937,” he added.
Wife, daughter detained
“After my arrest by the two guards, my daughter and wife were returned to the hospital where they are being detained now,” he told magistrate Muthoni Nzibe.
Murage expressed his desperation on how his wife and daughter were being held under supervision. He said he is not in a position to raise the accrued bills and therefore doesn’t know how long his wife and child will stay at the facility.
Appealed for assistance
He reached out for assistance from Good Samaritans and well-wishers to bail out his wife and daughter from KNH since his attempts to raise were unsuccessful.
“From February 11 2019 when my daughter was discharged I have made fruitless efforts to raise the outstanding bill,” Mr Murage said.