Doctors weigh tough options on Baby Satrin Osinya: To remove bullet or leave it in head

Baby Satrin Osinya

By ABIGAEL SUM, STANLEY MWAHANGA AND BENARD SANGA

NAIROBI, KENYA: Doctors at the Kenyatta National Hospital have not resolved whether or not to operate on Baby Satrin Osinya to remove the bullet lodged in his skull, The Standard can reveal.

For the moment Satrin is under the care of top medical experts in the country. A neurosurgeon, who took CORD politicians led by Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula on a tour of the hospital where baby Satrin is being taken care of, said at the moment they are concentrating on cleaning the wound where the bullet was lodged and treat any potential infections.

“After that the team of doctors will decide what to do next and it is not a must that an operation to remove the bullet will be carried out,” said Dr Githae, a neurosurgeon at the hospital.

Githae, who was accompanied by the hospital’s CEO Lily Koros, said the hospital had also not decided on the team of doctors to deal with Satrin’s case.

“It is not necessary the matter takes two weeks. It will depend on when and how the wounds will have been cleaned and treated,” he said.

CRUCIAL LEADS

Meanwhile, police in Mombasa remained clueless on the whereabouts of the gunmen who attacked and killed six worshippers at a church in Likoni on Sunday, only claiming to have “crucial leads” about the attackers whereabouts.

Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa announced that six people were still admitted to the Coast Provincial General Hospital and a private hospital in the town by last evening.

“We have narrowed down on some individuals and the whole of today the county police commander and CID boss were in Kwale,” Marwa said, adding that the search for the attackers had spread to Kwale.

Marwa said he has received vital information on “what happened that day” but it was unclear what he was referring to because he did not divulge any further information.

Independent sources told The Standard that police headquarters and the Office of the President is increasingly frustrated by what it considers to be the grave intelligence failures in Mombasa following the March 17 discovery of a huge booby trap at the Mombasa Police headquarters and Sunday’s church massacre. An official, who asked not to be named, told The Standard Wednesday evening that there is growing rivalry and lack of coordination among the various security agencies in Mombasa with a fierce contest going on between the police and anti-terrorism police. This rivalry has forced the transfer of key anti-terrorism police officials.

According to the same source, lack of real time human intelligence on Sunday’s attackers has stalled the search for the gunmen. There were reports that a special squad of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, which has been in Kwale since last month, has joined the hunt concentrating in Kombani and Similani.