CS Duale dispatches team to probe childbirth death case in Mukumu hospital

Speaking on Monday in Nairobi, CS Duale said that the team will comprise members from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) and the Director General for Health in the Ministry of Health (MoH) Dr. Patrick Amoth to unearth details behind the demise.

"We are sending a team to go and investigate the whole ecosystem of Mukumu hospital, [on] why mothers are dying. We must make sure that no mother dies and no child dies," he said.

"We shall look at the causes. Is it the blood, availability of healthcare workers or negligence?"

Grace Wambui Misigo's family told Citizen TV that she was admitted at the facility on February 10, 2026, but died in the labour ward from what they claim to be medical negligence. 

Family members claimed that nurses on duty assaulted her as they forced her to deliver the baby through a natural delivery when she started bleeding profusely. 

"Their job was just to beat her, telling her to push the baby out. She just told them 'I'm leaving my children and I'm dying'...a little while later, I heard them calling each other, the doctors came and they were covered in blood everywhere, said the deceased's sister-in-law, Grace Agara.

Her brother-in-law Daura Adai added: "..she was hit in the chest and ribs...in fact, we knew she was dead while there, because blood was all over the place. There's a lot of negligence in this hospital. My sister-in-law could not have died."

As events unfolded, medics recommended that Grace be admitted to the theatre for a C-section operation but it was too late because Grace and her child died.

An autopsy report confirmed the cause of her death was a rupture of body organs, among them both ribs and the uterus.

Efforts to get a response from the facility have proved futile.

This comes after MoH launched the National Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) steering committee in a move to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

During the launch, CS Duale emphasized that no woman should lose her life while giving birth, and no newborn should die from preventable causes. 

He added that the committee will play a pivotal role in transforming childbirth by protecting the lives of every woman and child.

"Every woman matters. Every newborn matters. And every preventable death must be prevented. Together, with unity of purpose and unwavering resolve, we will ensure that every woman and every newborn survives and thrives—everywhere in Kenya," Duale noted.

The CS has noted that the Ministry will soon launch a hotline number where Kenyan citizens can report any cases of suspected negligence in health facilities across the nation.