Police in Machakos are investigating an incident where a man was arrested for allegedly stealing a nurse’s mobile phone at Machakos Level 5 hospital.
The suspect was nabbed after he was found in possession of the phone belonging to Philip Mumo, a nurse attached to the public health facility on Monday.
This follows the recent arrests of two other men suspected to be part of a phone theft syndicate agonizing patients at the same hospital.
Sarcastically, the suspect, 17, reportedly stole the phone shortly after being attended to by Mumo at the hospital’s Diabetes Centre.
He had disguised himself as a patient and sought medication at the hospital before the incident happened.
Mumo said he had left his phone at his desk after releasing Kimutai to engage with a fellow nurse, it didn't take him five minutes to realize his phone was missing that's when he raised the alarm.
The security team acted swiftly after receiving a report from the nurse and upon reviewing the CCTV footage, they discovered that the suspect, who had just been attended to by the nurse, was the one who had stolen the phone.
“At around 3.00 pm while discharging my duties here the Diabetes Centre, I was operating in one room, and left the room for another to consult a doctor. I had left my phone in the room where I was attending to patients. When I returned, I found my phone had been stolen. I reported to the hospital’s security who immediately took action by checking on the CCTV where they saw the man stealing the phone,” Mumo told reporters on Tuesday.
He said it was at that point that they pursued the suspect together with the hospital’s security personnel and found him in the outpatient area.
“He was told to produce the phone and he surrendered it. He had hidden it inside his sweater pockets. He removed the phone and handed it over to the security personnel,” Mumo said.
The suspect was later handed to officers at Machakos police station where he spent his Monday night.
Police said the suspect would be arraigned in Machakos Law courts on Tuesday.
Machakos County Chief Officer of Public Health Simon Simba Mwako said Mutahi will serve as an example to those who view the facility as a haven for theft.
He warned those with such malicious intent, indicating that they will face serious consequences.
Mwako revealed that the hospital has enhanced its security measures by requiring all staff to display their identification tags while on duty.
He said the initiative aims to better manage and identify unsuspecting individuals thereby preventing thefts targeting both medical staff and patients in the wards.
