Boniface Mwangi: Why I exploded with anger at Nairobi West Hospital

Activist Boniface Mwangi has admitted to causing a stir at the Nairobi West Hospital on August 21.

A video showing Mwangi confronting security personnel at the hospital has since gone viral.

The activist had been accused of vandalising the hospital's equipment.

Mwangi has since come out to acknowledge paying the hospital Sh106,000 for the destroyed property, including a desktop computer.

On what led to the scuffle, Mwangi said he took issue with the hospital's policy to seek a deposit from patients before they are admitted to the facility.

The activist said on August 21, he and his wife had been involved in a road accident and were taken to the Nairobi West Hospital, which was the nearest treatment centre from the accident scene on Lang'ata Road.

However, upon arrival at the hospital, he said he was shocked to learn that an upfront payment was needed before he and his spouse, Hellen Njeri, could be treated.

He claims he got angry at the demand, occasioning the scuffle.

"On August 21, we were passengers in a friend's car. During the journey, another motorist veered onto our lane on Lang'ata Road and rammed our car. Good Samaritans, a couple, came to our rescue and took us to Nairobi West Hospital," Mwangi said on Facebook on Thursday, September 1.

He said the upfront payment policy that he didn't agree with resulted in the destructive scuffle.

"Emergency healthcare is a right in the Constitution. In my desperation to get the hospital's management to attend to my wife, I ended up raising my voice, breaking some things and causing a scene," said Mwangi.

The activist was, consequently, arrested and booked at the Akila Police Station in South C under the OB Number 21/08/2022.

An officer at the station confirmed to The Standard that Mwangi was released from custody the following day after two of his friends raised his police bail.

The Nairobi West Hospital, in its policies, requires a patient to pay an upfront fee before treatment.