Three nurses and a support staff member at Kenyatta National Hospital were acquitted of murder charges on Friday which were linked to the death of cancer patient Cosmas Mutunga, finally bringing to an end a case that had lingered in the courts for nearly a decade.
In a ruling delivered at the Milimani Law Courts on December 19, the judge said the prosecution had failed to adduce sufficient evidence to link the accused to Mutunga’s death.
“The accused persons did not act with the intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm, and there is no evidence to rebut the possibility that the fatal act was committed by an unknown third party,” ruled the judge.
Cosmas Mutunga, 42, had been admitted on November 8, 2015, at Kenyatta National Hospital. The worse happened on November 29 when he was found dead with disturbing features: multiple stab wounds, with a broken right leg and one of his eyes gouged out.
The court pointed out that the death, although occurring within a hospital, had not been proved by the prosecution to be done with malice or intent on the part of the four staff. The judge noted that a hospital is a place where entry is accessible to many people and such a serious condition as Mutunga’s was considered to need constant attention, thereby creating an opportunity even for an unknown third party.
The conviction of the appellants could not be proved by clear evidence linking them to the crime; therefore, the threshold necessary for a conviction was not met, and they were acquitted.
The three nurses and the support staff went through psychiatric tests to ascertain their mental status to plead during the trial’s inception. Colleagues protested their arrest and prosecution by camping outside Milimani Law Courts in solidarity with them.
KNUN strongly condemned the arrests at the time, saying the staff were being unfairly targeted over what was a broader security failure at the hospital.
“This case should not overshadow the need for better hospital security and oversight,” said the union during the trial.
The four were initially released on a bond of Ksh 300,000 each in 2016. The acquittal finally brings closure to a case that had hung over the accused and the hospital for so long. In his final orders, the judge ordered that the four be released forthwith unless they are lawfully held for any other reason.