Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has issued more details on the suspect at the center of the shocking murder of a patient at the facility.
In a statement on Friday, July 18, the facility said the suspect, who has since been identified as Kennedy Kalombotole, had first been admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in November 2022, before being transferred to the general ward.
KNH added that due to his lack of identification and known relatives, efforts to trace his family were unsuccessful.
"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," the statement continued.
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KNH further disclosed that in June 2024, it had managed to discharge the suspect to a home it had secured.
However, his health deteriorated again in December 2024, prompting his readmission.
After treatment, KNH discharged him in January 2025, but the home that had initially hosted him refused to take him back.
"In June 2024, the Hospital was able to secure a home where the suspect was discharged too. However, 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," the statement added.
KNH further confirmed that Kalombotole is a person of interest in the murder of Gilbert Kinyua who was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the facility earlier this year.
"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 is awaiting the outcome of the previous incident," the statement further read.
KNH clarified that it never intended to house the suspect permanently, but had no other options since homes declined to take him back and the DCI took over the case.
"We emphasize 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," the statement added.
Meanwhile, to determine the exact cause of the patient's death, the hospital confirmed that a postmortem examination will be conducted.
"A postmortem examination will be scheduled to determine the exact cause of the patient's death. KNH continues to fully cooperate with the DCl and all relevant investigative bodies and will comply with any recommendations that arise from their findings," the statement concluded.
Kalombotole was arrested on Friday night by homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
