A 13-Year-Old Standard Six pupil who was attacked by a buffalo in Lamu County has died due to a lack of medical attention in public hospitals as a result of the ongoing doctors’ strike.
Hassan Muzamil Ali, who was a pupil at Vipingoni Primary School in Lamu County was attacked by the wild animal while returning from school on Tuesday last week.
He succumbed to the injuries on Sunday due to lack of treatment.
His father, Abdulrahman Ali, unsuccessfully sought X-ray services from two counties while his son’s health deteriorated as there was no doctor to attend to him.
“We rushed my son to Mpeketoni Sub-County Hospital. However, we were referred to Malindi Sub-District Hospital for an X-ray to ascertain the extent of the injuries.
“On reaching the hospital, we were told it was full so we had to come to Mombasa for the X-ray.
“We tried getting help in public hospitals but we never got any help so we went to a private hospital,” he added.
Mr Ali said they took the boy to a public hospital because they could not afford the services of a private hospital.
He said one private hospital in Mombasa asked for Sh50,000 for the X-ray.
An X-ray at Mewa Hospital revealed his son had gastritis, an inflammation, irritation, or erosion of the lining of the stomach.
“After the X-ray we traveled back to Mpeketoni Sub-County Hospital using an ambulance as instructed by the health workers.
“But my son succumbed to his injuries on Sunday at the hospital.
“Had we not traveled back and forth in search of X-ray services, my son would have been recuperating,” he noted.
