A 26-year-old woman died on Saturday from health complications after undergoing an emergency cesarean section at the Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital (NCRTH), sparking accusations of negligence from her grieving family.
Elizabeth Njoroge was admitted to the facility on Friday at 11 a.m. with a postdated pregnancy and was in early labor, according to a statement released by Nakuru County’s Health CEC Roselyn Mungai. She was scheduled for surgery the following day.
The operation was conducted at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and Elizabeth successfully delivered a baby boy. However, her condition worsened soon after. Mungai said the young mother developed breathing difficulties and dangerously low oxygen levels.
“She was promptly resuscitated, intubated, and placed on a ventilator,” said the health official.
But the hospital reportedly delayed transferring Elizabeth to the Intensive Care Unit due to unavailability of beds. It wasn’t until 3:00 p.m. that she was moved—more than three hours after surgery. She suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 5:41 p.m.
A clinical audit conducted by the hospital concluded that the complications were “neither predictable nor preventable.”
However, the family is disputing that assessment, claiming negligence and poor communication from the hospital staff.
Her husband, Benson Kinyanjui, said Elizabeth had shown no signs of distress before the operation. “From 1:30, the ambulance was arriving at 3:00 p.m. For an emergency, for someone who is not breathing—it took two hours? Two hours?” he questioned during an interview with NTV.
Her mother, Susan Wanjiku, who viewed her daughter’s body, expressed deep anguish and called for accountability.
“They had taped my daughter’s eyes and she had bitten her tongue—it was black. She has died and I will bury her, but nobody else should die here,” she said tearfully.
CEC Mungai acknowledged that the facility failed in its communication with the family.
“We recognize and deeply regret the delay in communicating with the family during the critical period immediately following the surgery,” she said.
Elizabeth’s death has reignited calls for better emergency care and transparency in public health facilities. The hospital has yet to release a full report of the incident.
