On Saturday, during Madaraka Day celebrations, Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko cleared several families’ hospital bills, relieving them of the burden of having to pay the piled-up hospital bills.
While other politicians took the day in Madaraka too seriously to run for the next election, this senator went to hospitals with wads of cash to pay bills for stranded patients.
Among the hospitals he visited was Kenyatta National Hospital’s Burns Unit, where he settled bills for patients who had been detained at the facility for months because the bills could not be paid.
He also visited other hospitals and made the patients and their families weep with joy.
One that has swept social media with conversation was the case of an 89-year-old grandmother, Ruth Njeri, who has been detained at a Thika hospital for the past three months.
The Nairobi senator said he learned of Grandma’s story after Ruth Gathigah commented on his earlier post on Facebook detailing how he paid bills for detained patients at Kenyatta National Hospital on Madaraka Day.
This is because the senator had not paid for everyone indiscriminately in the hospitals.
Mr. Sonko wrote on Saturday.
“I would like to say thank you to one of my Facebook friends by name Ruth Gathigah. In her comments, she drew my attention to a case of 89-year-old grandmother Ruth Njeri, who had been admitted to St Mulumba Hospital in Makongeni Thika and discharged three months ago, but was unfortunately detained on a prison term by the hospital administration. 220,000 hospital bill”.
The Sonko Rescue Team not only paid grandma’s overflowing hospital bills, but also bought household goods for the frail woman.
Mike said the woman went home a happy grandma,A few people who say, “I do campaigns or I like to show off when I help people, (they) are wrong. This is where my blessing comes from, to me it’s like a Transcript.”
During the practice, Sonko also cleared the hospital bills of several other people, most notably Mary Kibwana Kamango, a Kenyan domestic help who has severe burns while working in Jordan.
After his hospital trip, the senator wrote on his Facebook:
“I was shocked that a large number of patients had been discharged from hospital, some as much as two months ago, but had been jailed by KNH for failure to pay hospital bills.”
“Therefore, today (Madaraka Day) I dedicate myself to supporting individuals and families in the ward that houses patients with burns from various fire sources such as electricity, stoves and gas.”
“I managed to pay medical bills to all patients who had suffered severe burns but were discharged but imprisoned for non-payment of bills. I did this without regard to their religious, ethnic or political affiliation. “
Campaign or not, we salute the senator for being a knight in shining armor. Sonko cleared the hospital bills and gave smiles to many.