Police holding a hospital officer over theft of drugs at a Thika Hospital

Thika,

Monday September 18, 2023,

KNA, by Muoki Charles

Kiambu Health County Executive Committee Member Dr Elias Maina has said the county government will integrate all its pharmacy systems in order to weed out bad characters in the county's health facilities.

The CEC said this while confirming that Police Officers in Makongeni, Thika are holding the officer in-charge of Makongeni Health Centre pharmacy in connection to the theft of medicine.  

Maina said the hospital has for quite a while been plagued with wanton drug theft prompting them to lay a trap to nab the culprits, and warned unscrupulous health officers who were stealing drugs from hospitals that their days were numbered.

The hospital board Chairman Simon Thiong’o Mukuna said the suspect was nabbed after one of the casual labourers noticed that some drugs that were received the previous day were missing.

“One of his colleagues set a trap to nab the suspect and, sure to his instincts, a woman who was with the suspect at the pharmacy came out carrying a bag,” Mukuna said.

Mukuna said they ordered the woman to reveal the contents of her luggage but she declined prompting them to raise an alarm which attracted patients who were waiting to be attended.

“The woman was cornered and forced to open the bag but unfortunately, in the confusion, she managed to sneak out of the hospital, leaving the pharmacist behind to be apprehended and taken to the police station.

Thiong'o said the suspect is a serial thief of medicine from public hospitals saying he was recently confronted at Thika level 5 attempting the same. This comes even as many patients in Kiambu health facilities are suffering for lack of basic medications. 

Courtesy; KNA