Kiambu politician Gladys Chania has come to the defence of a father who was caught while trying to smuggle his daughter out of the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Boniface Murage was apprehended at the facility's exit trying to smuggle out the baby in a carrier bag on February 16, 2019.
The hospital has termed the move as an attempt to defraud the facility of Sh56, 937 in medical services given to the baby and her mother.
Chania has, however, faulted the facility and specifically its Social Services department for failing to scrutinise the man's ability to pay up the money before pressing the charges against him.
She is of the opinion that such instances call for special measures, arguing that the father should have been given other options. Chania is now championing for a waiver of the expenses.
"The social worker at KNH should have assessed the ability of this young man to pay the bill before, then help him accordingly with a bill waiver. Prohibiting him from getting his baby played a role on his actions so the KNH act was an enabler," she wrote on her Facebook page.
"So Kenyans, let's have the KNH social worker do her work and the man to go home free of charge with his baby...We cannot intimidate these young parents by slapping bills on them instead of equipping then on medical covers information," she added.
Appearing before Resident Magistrate Muthoni Nzibe at the Milimani Law Courts on Monday, the 22-year-old man attributed his action to his inability to pay the bill.
He said that he feared that his family would be held in the facility forever over the bills and had to device a way to avoid the same.
He is set to be presented again in court today (Tuesday) for sentencing.
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