Details have emerged of how massive graft marred Covid-19 testing and vaccination at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) in Mombasa, as desperate citizens scrambled for jabs at the height of Covid-19 crisis in the better part of 2021.
It has now emerged desperate Kenyans were forced to part with between Sh 1,000 and Sh 2,000 for the services.
The said graft was reportedly being perpetrated by rogue officials at the facility who were tasked with the mandate of spearheading a network of brokers and individuals from outside the hospital.
A number of Kenyans who went through the Coast’s largest referral hospital at the time have given a blow by blow account of how corrupt networks within the facility molded a cash cow out of Covid-19 vaccination and testing.
According to sources familiar with the said networks, priority for services especially vaccination and testing was reportedly given to clients who were ready to remit cash.
Christine Dena said she had gone for a third retest after having tested positive for Covid-19 when she noticed the unnecessary delays.
She said results for her samples which had been collected for her third retest could not be tracked and she was forced to return to the facility the following day for another sample collection.
“Since my first test, everything was free of charge but during the third test I noticed there were extreme delays. When my result could not be tracked one of the nurses asked me if I remitted cash and when I expressed my disappointment at the level of extortion at the facility and threatened to expose the rot, they pleaded with me to maintain my cool,” she said adding one of the nurses even offered to send her the results via whatsapp but she declined the offer.
Within the same facility, David Odongo, explained how at one point he witnessed Money exchanging hands at the waiting bay just next to the vaccination room.
“The queue was long. We were kept waiting since morning and at some point they even sent a security guard to tell us that the doses were out. Then I saw a young woman make a call and walk straight towards the vaccination room. While at the waiting bay she handed one of the clinical officers a Sh 1000 note,” explained Odongo noting the woman reportedly claimed to be in a rush to travel.
On receiving the cash, the said clinical officer was immediately spotted stuffing the cash in his shoulder bag.
The officer then went on to rummage through a hip of used vaccine vials, and used a needle and syringe to suck out remaining drops of vaccines from five of the vials to make one dose and gave her the jab.
According to Odongo, the fraudulent operation was brokered by a group of brokers that strategically took position at vaccination stations whose main job was to receive calls from desperate members of the public and record their particulars on a piece of paper to prepare their jabs.
“I remember very well it was on a Friday and there was one person with a hat and blue robe. He was seated at the second last center next to the vaccination room. His job was to receive calls and record personal details on a sheet of paper and submit it to those in charge of the exercise,” he said adding he received had second dose after returning to the hospital four times
Peter Mwaro, a Mombasa based sales executive said they were in a long queue awaiting their second jab but they were surprised to see priority being given to Kenya Revenue Authority staffers and a group of Asians who claimed to be part of a committee that coordinated and negotiated for their services.
“We were six of us from our company. We arrived at the facility at 8.00am but we waited until afternoon then we were told that the doses were finished and we had to come again the next morning. That morning when we arrived the queues were long and the scene was chaotic. We watched as people were being allowed in and when we asked they said they had booked earlier,” said Mwaro.
At some point a bitter altercation ensued and led to exchange of blows in the queue
Besides vaccination, the County government of Mombasa spent Sh 14.6 million in the financial year 2020/2021 on purchase and installation of sanitizing booths and tents despite the move by the Ministry of Health to declare such booths ineffective and irrelevant.
A summary of the Sh 200 million Covid-19 budgets and expenditure for Mombasa County as captured in the County Governments Budget implementation review report of the first nine month of the financial year 2020/2021 indicates the Governor Hassan Joho’s administration spent a total of Sh 14,656,351 as of March 31, 2021 on the irrelevant booths.
In the financial year, the County had allocated Sh200 million for Covid-19 and by March 31, a total of Sh 142,100,245, translating to more than 50 per cent of the budget had been spent already.
Acting health Director General Patrick Amoth was on record saying that the sanitization booths installed in various parts of the country are neither safe nor helpful in combating the spread of coronavirus.
According to Amoth, the chemicals used may expose people to severe respiratory conditions which can lead to death.
“When using chemicals like chlorine or hydrogen peroxide which are used commonly in those booths; in case you are asthmatic, you can get a severe attack which can lead to respiratory failure and even death,” the Director General said as he further warned that the chemicals can cause skin irritation that may cause dermatitis and eye irritation.
His remarks came at a time when installation of the booths in public spaces had almost become a norm by both County and National Government authorities across the country.
Mombasa County had set aside Sh 10 million for Purchase and Installation of Sanitizing Booths and tents but as of March the County had spent Sh 14,656,351 according to the report.
A further Sh 8 million was spent on supply of the sanitizing booths and tents sanitizing chemicals meaning that more than Sh 22 million may have gone to waste.
