A 15-year-old boy is nursing injuries at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret after his penis was chopped off during a botched circumcision.
The incident occurred during a circumcision ceremony held at Priro in Sook village, West Pokot Count on Monday, December 6, 2020.
According to the villagers, the boy was first taken to first rushed Kapenguria, which is 60km away, but found the county hospital deserted with clinical officers and nurses on strike.
With no doctor to attend to him, the parents say that they were only given a mask box to store the detached part of the penis.
“We had to act fast and save the boy’s life. We took him to Sook Dispensary, but we found it closed. The only option was to hire a motorbike and ferry him to Kapenguria County Hospital. We arrived there at around noon. He was bleeding and we feared we could lose him.”
The boy’s parents managed to convince a nurse to refer him to MTRH, but they still could not get an ambulance to transport him forcing them to use a matatu.
It forced the parents to turn to well-wishers who saved the situation and raised enough fare to take them to Eldoret.
They arrived at the MTRH, another 110km from Makutano, at 4PM where the boy was immediately admitted with traumatic penile amputation.
“He was taken to the theatre on Monday night. The specialist will handle the case and reattach the penis. We hope reconstruction will be successful,” said Stanley Ruto, a clinical officer at the hospital.
Ruto faulted the Kapenguria County Hospital for neglecting the patient, saying the health workers should provide essential services despite the ongoing strike.
However, West Pokot Health Executive Jackson Yaralima stated that he was not aware of the incident, terming it “unfortunate”.
“I am aware that the rest of the health cadres are on a go-slow. They don’t want to be seen to be working because they fear being victimised,” said Yaralima.
