KNH Says Murder Suspect Lived in Hospital for Being Homeless: "No Known Relatives"
- Kennedy Kolombotole is in police custody as the prime suspect behind the murder of a Kenyatta National Hospital patient
- KNH said the man resided within the precincts of the hospital, as he was homeless and never had known relatives
- He allegedly killed two patients five months apart; the deceased patients were killed in the same fashion
New perspectives on the murder of a Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) patient continue to emerge as investigators advance their probe into it.
Source: Twitter
Edward Maingi Ndegwa was killed inside the 7B ward on Thursday, July 17.
He was found in a pool of blood, with a deep cut on the neck.
The suspect, Kennedy Kolombotole, was arrested immediately and placed in custody.
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Why murder suspect was allowed to stay at KNH
It would later emerge that the suspect stayed within the KNH precincts even after being discharged.
In its explanation as to why Kolombotole prolonged his stay at the hospital, during which he allegedly killed two patients, the hospital revealed that the man had been homeless and without traceable kin.
"The suspect, who was a long-term patient of the hospital, had previously been admitted in November 2022 into ICU, and subsequently discharged to the general ward. Being a homeless person with no known relatives nor proven identity, he stayed on in the hospital even as the hospital made several attempts to identify him through fingerprint identification and also through our social media pages," read a statement from KNH chief executive officer William Sigilai.
The management of the hospital took it upon itself to secure a home where he lived.
He would still be admitted to the hospital whenever he fell ill.
Kolombotole's last admission to KNH was in December last year.
He was discharged after treatment, but the owners of the home that had hosted him previously refused to take him back.
The hospital allowed him to stay there as they sought where he would go.
"He fell ill in December 2024 and was readmitted to KNH and discharged in January 2025. Upon discharge, the home that previously hosted him declined to take him back for unknown reasons. In the interim, the suspect remained in KNH as we tried to look for alternative accommodation," KNH's statement indicated.
At some point, the hospital posted his identity, unsuccessfully seeking to connect him with his kin.
His stay was smooth until February this year, when another patient was found murdered in the same ward where Maingi was killed yesterday.
What was DCI blunder in first KNH murder?
In their preliminary probe, the DCI established Kolombotole as a person of interest, unlocking the fear in the hospital's management to continue hosting him.
Source: Twitter
Ordinarily, being identified as a person of interest in a murder, the man would have been taken into police custody.
The police bypassed that aspect and asked the hospital to continue hosting him as investigations continued.
"Following the death of patient Gilbert Kinyua, the DCI flagged the suspect as a person of interest, and they then advised the hospital to hold him pending the conclusion of their investigations," the hospital said.
He continued to stay there even with the hospital's concerns over his status as a murder suspect and the danger he posed to those around him.
"We emphasise that the suspect had been discharged, and the hospital did not intend or desire to host him indefinitely. However, in the absence of alternative options and pending direction from investigative agencies, we had no choice but to continue with his stay in the hospital," KNH added.
Who discovered KNH patient's murder?
Maingi's murder was discovered by a cleaner in the corridor who spotted a trail of blood.
It led to ward 7B, where the patient was found unresponsive.
A deep cut was evident on the neck, pointing to murder.
The hospital's management informed the detectives who camped at the scene.
After piecing together the evidence gathered at the facility, they zeroed in on Kolombotole as the main suspect.
However, the investigators said their quest to solidify their case against the suspect suffered a setback after they established that CCTV cameras around the scene of the crime were not working at the time the killing took place.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
