KEWOPA, health workers slam Kitengela Hospital invasion during Saba Saba protests

As Kenya commemorated Saba Saba Day, a date rooted in the country’s struggle for democratic reforms and constitutional rights, the spirit of peaceful protest was disrupted by a shocking incident at Kitengela Sub-County Hospital, where armed individuals stormed the facility and interrupted critical emergency procedures.

They set fire to the hospital's gate, vandalised essential medical equipment, and violently disrupted emergency procedures, including a caesarean section that was underway. Doctors and nurses were forced to flee, leaving a mother on the operating table.

In a statement, the Kenya Women's Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) condemned the attack, terming it an unacceptable affront to human dignity and a criminal violation of the sanctity of life.

"The interruption of a life-saving operation, particularly one involving a mother and child, exposes a shocking and unacceptable disregard for the sanctity of life. What kind of society allows its hospitals to become battlegrounds? What cause can ever justify placing innocent lives, especially women, newborns, and medical staff, in such grave danger?" said KEWOPA chairperson Leah Sankaire.

The MPs expressed outrage that patients and healthcare workers had to flee for safety, stating that such actions were not only criminal but also violated international norms and constitutional protections. They called on all political leaders, stakeholders, and citizens to unequivocally denounce the attack, stressing that the protection of medical personnel and infrastructure must remain a non-negotiable priority.

KEWOPA further urged the Ministry of Health to urgently restore operations at the hospital and ensure the safety of all healthcare workers and patients. They appealed to the National Police Service (NPS) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to carry out a thorough investigation and called on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) to provide psychosocial support to the affected hospital staff.

"Healthcare facilities must be zones of safety, not targets of violence," said KEWOPA. "Healthcare should never be politicized nor used as collateral in civic action. Its protection is a collective duty, one that must be upheld urgently and without exception."

The Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (KOGS) also decried the incident, calling it a “grave breach of medical ethics, patient rights, and human decency.” KOGS confirmed that the theatre was stormed while a mother was undergoing a caesarean section, putting both her life and that of her baby at risk.

"The lives of both mother and child were put in imminent danger, and the hospital staff were traumatized and impeded from performing their duties. This action constitutes a grave breach of medical ethics, patient rights, and human decency,” said KOGS president, Dr Kireki Omanwa.

Backing the outcry, Amref Health Africa emphasised that pregnancy must never be a point of vulnerability during conflict. “Every mother has the right to deliver in safety,” it said in a statement, urging swift action to ensure medical facilities remain protected.

Echoing the sentiments, the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators and concrete government measures to ensure the safety of frontline medical workers in insecure regions.

"Attacking a hospital is an act of self-destruction. When you attack a hospital, you are not only attacking the government or some perceived enemy, you are attacking the very lifeline that your own family, your children, your parents will run to when life hangs in the balance, said KNUMLO. " This is not merely ignorance, this is primitive lawlessness of the worst order. It is reckless, cowardly, and utterly deplorable."

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