The family of the victim of an attack in Wajir was relieved from paying a hospital bill of Sh115,000 by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday.
Rowland Kang’ethe, 44, had been admitted in the ICU at Kenyatta National Hospital for weeks after he was shot at close range by an unknown assailant on his way home from work.
He was a businessman based in Wajir town but hails from Mamumbu village in Murang’a East Subcounty.
“I am afraid to go back to Wajir because I don’t know the intention of the people who shot at us,” he said.
Kang’ethe had been discharged but could not leave the hospital because of the uncleared bill. He had reportedly been sleeping on the floor.
His plight was highlighted by the media drawing Uhuru’s attention. He was released immediately after his bill was cleared.
Speaking at his home, Kang’ethe thanked Uhuru saying his family would not have been able to raise the amount.
He explained that he was with three of his friends when the assailants approached and opened fire at around 5.30pm.
He said he ran away but one of them caught up with him and shot him four times.
“The assailant shot me on the right shoulder and before I could run, he shot me three more times. I fell and lost consciousness and when I came to, I was surrounded by passersby, some of whom took me to Wajir hospital,” he said.
He said one of his friends died on the spot.
Kang’ethe said the doctors at the hospital, unable to remove the bullets lodged in his body, referred him to KNH.
He said the injuries the incident left him with have made rendered him unable to carry on with his hawking business and appealed to the government for help with his children’s school fees.
MCA Joseph Njoroge who visited Kang’ethe’s home pledged to seek Governor Mwangi Wa Iria’s help in paying the school fees using part of the county bursary kitty.
- the-star.co.ke
