The circumstances surrounding how a mother gave birth to a boy and then received a dead infant four days later are being looked into by Mombasa police.
On February 26, Mercy Masambaga gave birth to a boy at Portriez Hospital. The next day, the newborn and his father Julius Kimeli were transported to the Coast General and Referral Hospital after the medical staff realized the infant was underweight and required specialized care.
According to the family, they were given a newborn girl on March 1. When they pressed for additional information, they were informed that their baby had died on February 27 and that the body had been stored in the hospital’s mortuary.
“Waliniletea mtoto msichana nikawaambia mtoto wangu ni wa kiume,” Masambaga told Citizen Digital.
“Walianza kusema mtoto wangu alifariki tarehe 27, nikawaambia tarehe 27 niliambiwa niende nikanunue pampers. Itakuwaje wakaniambia we nenda ukae alafu wakakawia zaidi ya saa moja ndio wanasema alikufa?”
Kimeli, visited the mortuary the following day to confirm his concerns and denied that the dead baby was theirs.
“Kama kweli mtoto alikuwa ni mgonjwa mbona hawakuniambia kule Portriez ambapo niliuliza na wakasema ni yuko underweight pekee yake?” posed Kimeli.
The couple engaged the police, who have since taken charge of the matter to help establish what transpired.
Coast General Hospital CEO Iqbal Khandwalla has since refuted the family’s claims saying he is aware of the matter and DNA samples were taken Thursday as investigations continue.
