Next time you take an unidentified patient to a hospital be prepared to disclose your identity for ease of identification in case of emergency and or contact.

According to new directives issued by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, anyone, including police officers taking patients to hospital will be required to present their identification documents.

"Going forward, no patient will be admitted if dropped off by unidentified or anonymous persons," said Duale, in response to a recent incident in which a patient Kennedy Kalombote, turned suspected aggressor, and is now the prime suspect of recent killing a patient inside the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) ward.

He added, "This policy is critical in safeguarding both patients and healthcare staff and in preventing cases of abandonment, impersonation or criminal activity within our health facilities."

Additionally, the Health CS directed referral hospitals across Kenya to liaise with the Ministry of Interior, specifically the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) unit and local community leaders to strengthen social support systems for vulnerable patients. 

“In instances where negligence or misconduct is identified, swift and decisive disciplinary or legal action will be taken to uphold professional standards,” noted Duale.

Duale said this collaboration aims at tracing the families of abandoned individuals, facilitating dignified and well-coordinated discharge processes and ensuring that patients who cannot be reintegrated into society are placed in appropriate long-term care or rehabilitation institutions.

Last week, homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations arrested Kennedy Kalombotole, the prime suspect behind the gruesome KNH ward murder of Edward Maingi Ndegwa, on July 17, 2025. Ndegwa was admitted in KNH's Ward 7B, Group C (Male), on July 11, 2025. 

Police investigations show that the suspect Kalombotole was admitted to KNH on December 1, last year and was also the prime suspect in the murder of Gilbert Kinyua Muthoni.

The 40-year-old was murdered in Ward 7C during the night of 6th and 7th February, 2025. Following the incident, a case file was compiled and submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). 

Kalombotole, who was first admitted to KNH in November 2022, was initially treated as an unidentified individual, discharged, but remained at the hospital since he was homeless and had no known relatives on record.

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