Police officers in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County are investigating an incident in which a cancer patient who went missing from hospital was found mauled by dogs.
The 53-year-old male patient who was suffering from throat cancer had been admitted at the hospital but disappeared from the ward on January 21, 2025.
Me Benjamin Mwanthi, who is the Uasin Gishu County police commander said that they had received reports of the disappearance of the patient from his family.
“The body was found in a bushy area near a river which passes near the hospital where the patient had been admitted,” said Mr Mwanthi.
According to a statement issued by the hospital management, the patient left the hospital at night after he removed hospital garments and wore his clothes.
Mwanthi said the case was being handled by DCI officers and that the body had been taken to a morgue in the area.
The body was found with many parts having been eaten by the stray dogs and it was also decomposing almost in skeleton form.
Police found the body at a location almost a kilometre away from the ward where the patient had been admitted.
Currently, the hospital’s security team is being tasked to explain why they never noticed the patient leaving the facility on that night.
” We have recorded statements at the hospital to establish what happened and if there was any negligence,” said Mwanthi
Cancer is a major public health concern in Kenya, where it is the third leading cause of death. Many organizations are working to reduce cancer mortality, including the Kenyan Ministry of Health, AMPATH Kenya, and the Faraja Medical Support Fund.
In 2020, Kenya reported 42,000 new cancer cases and 27,000 cancer-related deaths. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women in Kenya.
Cancer is responsible for over 7 percent of deaths in Kenya each year.
