Widow fights for benefits of nurse who got Hepatitis B

The widow of a nurse who died from liver cancer three years ago is still seeking compensation.

Carol Kipturgo said her husband, Jacob Komen, had contracted Hepatitis B during his routine duty of assisting pregnant women give birth in Tambach Hospital in Elgeyo Marakwet.

Carol, 34, a trained secretary but is currently unemployed, showed The Standard a bunch of official documents indicating correspondence with various government agencies that had gone nowhere.

In her unrelenting pursuit of the Sh10 million that she claims Komen is rightfully owed, the widow has unsuccessfully reached out to officials in the county government as well as those in labour and health dockets.

“I cry every night because it hurts me that my husband, who served Kenyans, died of a disease he contracted from a patient. Three years later, his family is languishing in poverty, unable to educate and feed his children because their breadwinner died in the course of duty without any benefits and compensation,” Carol said.

She narrated how Komen started complaining of stomachache in April 2016 and sought attention at the Iten Referral Hospital before being referred to Moi Teaching Referral Hospital in Eldoret. He was diagnosed with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma which had destroyed his liver.

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“His health deteriorated and on September 5 he was flown to India where he was treated for one-and-a-half months. But he never improved and was brought back home and taken to Kabernet Referral Hospital where he died on October 10,” said Carol.

What followed was a series of visits to the county health department after officers allegedly told her she would be compensated.

“I am tossed from office to office when I go to ask for his dues. The county says issues of his employment benefits are in Nairobi, but when I go to Nairobi, I am told the issue will be addressed by the county,” she said.

As a result, Carol said she could no longer provide for her two children aged five and 12, who go to Moi Tambach Primary School, while she could only pay Sh5,000 fees this term for her eldest daughter in Kapkenda Girls High School.

Carol’s sister, Lucy Chemator, said she had to move in with the family when Komen was sick. “My sister is depressed. She goes to her room to sleep but I only hear her crying. She has even threatened to commit suicide.”

Kenya National Union of Nurses Elgeyo Marakwet branch secretary Benson Biwott said they had tried to help the widow but their efforts have not borne fruits.

Mr Biwott advised Carol to take legal action, saying: “Such a matter is complex and can only be determined by an arbiter, which in this case is the courts.”

Elgeyo Marakwet Health Executive Kiprono Chepkok said workers who lose their lives in the line of duty are not entitled to compensation because they receive a risk allowance of between Sh2,000 and Sh10,000 depending on their job groups.

Mr Chepkok said the county had not confirmed whether Komen contracted the viral disease in the hospital. He added that if there were any benefits due to Komen, he would help Carol secure them.

“The deceased was seconded to us by the national government. We are yet to establish whether she is the next of kin.”