KNH says DCI behind prolonged stay of Kalombotole after first murder incident
By Arnold Ngure, July 18, 2025Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has stated that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is behind the prolonged stay of the person of interest in the second murder of a patient in the facility’s ward 7B.
In a statement on Friday, July 18, 2025, KNH indicated that the DCI had asked the hospital to hold Kennedy Kalombotole, the person of interest in the double homicide, until investigations into the first murder of Gilbert Kinyua were complete.
“Following the death of patient Gilbert Kinyua, the DCI flagged the suspect as a person of interest, and they then advised the Hospital to hold him pending the conclusion of their investigations. The Hospital is awaiting the outcome of the previous incident,” KNH stated.
Resettlement and identification
KNH equally revealed that their efforts to resettle Kalombotole had been unsuccessful after tracing his relatives and sharing his images online failed to achieve their desired result of reuniting him with his kin.
“The suspect, who was a long-term patient of the Hospital, had previously been admitted in November 2022 into the ICU, and subsequently discharged to the general ward. Being a homeless person with no known relatives nor proven identity, he stayed on in the Hospital even as the hospital made several attempts to identify him through fingerprint identification and also through our social media pages,” KNH acting CEO William Sigilai said.
“In June 2024, the Hospital was able to secure a home where the suspect was discharged to. However, he fell ill in December 2024 and was readmitted to KNH and discharged in January 2025. Upon discharge, the home that previously hosted him declined to take him back for unknown reasons. In the interim, the suspect remained in KNH as we tried to look for alternative accommodation.”
Discharged from KNH
KNH now says Kalombotole had been discharged and that they had no intention of further keeping him at the facility, except for investigation purposes by the DCI.
“We emphasize that the suspect had been discharged, and the Hospital did not intend or desire to host him indefinitely. However, in the absence of alternative options and pending direction from investigative agencies, we had no choice but to continue with his stay in the Hospital,” KNH observed.
DCI officers called to the scene after the murder of Edward Maingi Ndegwa on Thursday, July 17, 2025, arrested Kalombotole after tracing blood stains to his adjacent room near ward 7B, where the deceased had just been visited by a relative.
He is also a person of interest in the murder of Gilbert Kinyua in February 2025, in the same ward.