Clients queue at a bank in Kenya. [Photo/ bbc.co.uk]
A 70-year-old man is reported to have died after queuing at a bank in Garissa for two days.
Hassan Haji Keinan, had gone to the bank to collect funds allocated to the elderly by the government.
Mr Keinan, who is physically challenged and suffers from hypertension, is said to have patiently waited at the bank for two days after finding long queues, only to be turned away when he got to the counter, Kenyans.co.ke reports.
Keinan’s son said his father suffered a heart attack after a cashier turned him away because his name did not appear on the list of beneficiaries.
“After reaching the counter, the cashier told him that there was no money to be paid to him since his name was not on the list. The old man started sweating profusely, collapsed and died on his way to the Garissa Level 5 hospital,” said the son, as quoted by the local daily.
The chairman of persons living with disabilities in the county condemned the incident and pointed an accusing finger at the government for allegedly frustrating beneficiaries, whom he said have to walk long distances and queue for hours in order to receive their stipend.
It is reported that several other elderly persons were turned away after the digital cash transfer system at the bank failed to recognize their fingerprints.