Kiambu Town MP Jude Njomo emotionally narrates pain of being forced to bury mother at 8pm after false Covid19 test

Kiambu MP emotionally narrates pain of being forced to bury mother at 8pm after false Covid19 test

Tony Mukere

July 1, 2020 12:08 PM

How erroneous Covid19 tests are causing pain to bereaved families

Kiambu Town MP Jude Njomo emotionally narrates pain of being forced to bury mother at 8pm after false Covid19 test

Kiambu Town MP Jude Njomo on Tuesday narrated the pain he and his family underwent while burying their 82-year old mother who passed on last month.

Njomo said he was forced to bury his elderly mother at 8pm in the night after her death was wrongly linked to Covid19.

The MP mentioned that her mother had been ailing for a while and had been in and out of hospital a couple of times.

In one such visit at the Aga Khan, the legislator's mother was tested for Covid19 and her test came back negative.

However, on June 8th, Njomo's mother fell ill again and died while being rushed to the Mater Hospital where her body was preserved.

A test done on the deceased's body by Lancet Kenya showed that she was Covid19 positive - after which the Ministry of Health called the MP to immediately bury his mother.

“I tried to beg for more time but in line with the law, we received a call at 3pm we buried her by 8pm, for the 82 years she had lived we felt that we did not give her the dignity,” Njomo emotionally narrated before the National Assembly's Health Committee.

The MP's family later followed up and asked for repeat results, one at the Nairobi Hospital and a second one at the National Influenza Lab - both turned out negative.

"I asked myself how many Kenyans have gotten wrong results, how many other Kenyans go through quarantine because of a wrong outcome, how many labs are careless, there are many Kenyans who are voiceless and let me the voice for those who have been offended by the careless laboratories, I wrote to KMPDB to inquire what is the problem of Lancet?” The MP asked.

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria had in June claimed that Njomo's mother was hurriedly buried because Deputy President Wuilliam Ruto had planned to visit the family.

Tony Mukere