The Kenyan public is scandalized after it emerged that University of Nairobi student Emmanuel Otieno aka Jadudi, for whom they raised Sh 7 million for a brain surgery abroad in September, already had his medical expenses fully catered for.
The startling online revelation of Jadudi’s story on Wednesday sparked off a heated debate among Kenyans on Twitter (#KOT) who now feel cheated by Africa Cancer Foundation who initiated the campaign.
#KOT have particularly taken issue with the foundation’s CEO Zawadi Nyong’o from who they are seeking answers as to where the millions of shillings raised through the campaign went.
However, Zawadi sought to set the records straight, saying that the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) only stepped in to cover for Jadudi’s medical expenses when he was already in India for the brain tumor surgery.
It all started when one Twitter user by the name @Slyy_W wrote: “OK so apparently Jadudi’s bills had all been catered for by NHIF. Info from a VERY reliable source.
She then posed the question, “What happened to the millions that were donated?”
She went on to post a third tweet saying: “VERY many people get turned down by the government when they seek funds to go for treatment outside. BUT there are those that get lucky.”
This prompted Zawadi Nyong’o to tweet back saying: “Nothing to hide. I’ll tweet for all to see.@AfriCF managing Jadudi medical trust. All accounts transparent. Thanks”
MEDICAL EXPENSES
She later wrote: “While Jadudi was in India, due to pressure NHIF finally covered the medical expenses they were responsible for but had previously not paid.”
Zawadi further attempted to explain Jadudi’s mother’s frustration at NHIF while seeking funds for her son’s treatment.
“I HONESTLY can’t wait for Jadudi’s mom to tell the story of her experience with NHIF. She was too busy trying to get Jadudi to India and… Jadudi’s mom had spent endless hours on different trips to Nairobi trying to get NHIF to agree, provide paperwork etc, to get him to India.”
“Finally, please note that I volunteer @AfrCF so I can’t provide any financial updates. I have done my best to update on Jadudi’s progress,” she concluded.
Celebrated blogger Biko Zulu, who first brought Jadudi’s plight to the attention of the Kenyan public in early August through an article titled That thing in Jadudi’s head, also sought to explain his involvement in the Jadudi campaign.
“I was approached by Africa Cancer Foundation about Jadudi. They told me he needed about Sh 1million for treatment. I did his story. I was not involved in collection of the sh7 million. The pay bill was controlled by ACF. I did not know that NHIF had taken care of the medical bill. I learnt that today on social media,” Biko told Nairobi News.
Biko’s article went viral resulting to a top twitter trend #1MilliforJadudi and within 48 hours Kenyans had contributed Sh 6 million which was meant to cater for his brain surgery in India.
Two weeks later, Jadudi was admitted at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India, where a successful surgery was done to remove a brain tumor on August 29. He arrived back in the country on October 1 and is currently recuperating.
