Grace Njoki, the woman arrested by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) over alleged disturbance, has spoken after the ordeal.
Njoki was Friday released on a cash bail of Sh10,000 after spending the night in custody.
Speaking after being released, Njoki said the arrest felt more like an abduction because the officers refused to identify themselves.
Njoki claimed that all they insisted on was that whether she liked it or not, they were leaving the hospital with her.
She noted that they also took her to three different locations before settling on where she was detained.
“I had gone to seek treatment at Ladnan hospital because I was sick and I saw a security person I had seen in Kenyatta. I sensed I was being followed but he claimed he had a patient. When I went to collect my results (at KNH) he appeared from nowhere, greeted me and asked what I was there for. I could identify him but he claimed he had a patient," she narrated.
“Less than 10 minutes later a man and a lady came and said they wanted to take me somewhere. I asked where and what I had done. They refused to tell me. I asked why they were arresting me they refused to say. They said I was not being arrested but one told me Úpende usipende utatoka hapa'. I felt threatened and asked the lady where they were taking me, but they did not clarify."
Njoki said that while she tried to call her son and her husband, the police officers took away her phone.
They then dragged him out of the hospital, even as the hospital staff tried unsuccessfully to intervene.
She added that the officers manhandled and bullied her without knowing what her crime was.
Njoki said they also refused to let her call her lawyer or her son but insisted she write a statement, which she refused to do.
“The hospital tried to intervene but other officers stormed in from the Pangani police station, they carried and manhandled me from the hospital. I was dragged, I was pinched and bullied without telling me why and where they were taking me. They insisted I write a statement and I asked about what? I have a heart problem. The refused to allow me to call my lawyer or my son and the only time they allowed me was through their phone.
“I do not know why I was arrested. It is an abduction to me. I had gone for treatment, could they not wait because they knew where I live? They could have called me to go write a statement.”
The DCI on Thursday said Njoki was arrested for allegedly causing a disturbance at the Ministry of Health Boardroom last week.
Police said that the suspect was tracked down at Hombe Road, off Juja Road, and was apprehended.
The 61-year-old patient was one of the people who visited the Ministry of Health offices on January 15, 2025, to protest SHA inequalities and inefficiencies.
However, according to Njoki, all she did was just fighting for the many voiceless patients who are suffering under the SHA.
“I only went to fight for patients who have no voice. I am not a political leader, I am a nurse and I am not looking for anything. All people who know me, I have always fought for patients’ rights. Give patients their rights, and proper treatments, stop just taking their money.”