Former Citizen TV presenter Kimani Mbugua on Wednesday, October 12 sparked reactions on social media over claims that he was detained at Mathare Hospital against his will.
In a statement on his Twitter account, the journalist said he is being held at the mental hospital despite being discharged.
Detained
Mbugua said he was taken to the hospital by his family on August 4, 2022 after having a psychotic disorder.
He said he was discharged four days later; on August 6, 2022 but his parents were allegedly against it.
Sharing a photo wearing a stripped shirt and a Mathare Hospital branded navy blue sweater, Mbugua claimed that the move was a punishment from his parents.
“I appeal to all people who know me to kindly appeal to my parents to let me out of Mathare Hospital
“I came here after a brief psychotic episode on the 4th of August and was discharged on the 10th of the same month. My parents have left me here to punish me,” he wrote.
I appeal to all people who know me to kindly appeal to my parents to let me out of Mathare Hospital. I came here after a brief psychotic episode on the 4th of August and was discharged on the 10th of the same month. My parents have left me here to punish me. pic.twitter.com/O2fTPj524V
— Kim (@MrKimaniMbugua) October 12, 2022
Kimani Mbugua’s mother speaks
In a phone interview with K24 Digital, the journalist’s mother, Peris Wanjiku, confirmed his son’s admission to the hospital in August.
She admitted that Mbugua was discharged on August 10th but upon further observations, the psychiatrist advised close monitoring of her son at the facility.
Wanjiku also said that Mbugua has one final therapy session before he can be discharged from the mental hospital.
She also mentioned that she was experiencing issues with National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover which had not been updated, however, noting that the issue was being fixed.
At the same time, Wanjiku said that she was in close communication with officials at the hospital and the issue is under control.
Kimani Mbugua’s mental health
In April this year, Mbugua shared how he suffered from mental illnesses was hugely affected after experiencing his worst breakup ever.
It appears that this is not the first time Mbugua is being admitted at Mathare Hospital, in 2020, the journalist said he was admitted at the facility twice.
He said he started smoking weed resulting to an addiction which became severe that he developed psychotic illnesses and admitted to the mental hospital.
Mbugua said the breakup got him hooked into drugs and he started cheating on his girlfriend with different women.
“I felt unfulfilled. I wasn’t getting the satisfaction I wanted from the relationship and therefore started cheating. My then-girlfriend found out, it was explosive. I ended up in a situation when I was trying to mend relationships with two people. This led me to the worst break-up ever,” he said.
Kimani Mbugua career
The journalist had a promising career having landed his first ever gig in the media industry while studying at Moi University.
Mbugua landed a job at Nation FM and in 2016, he was promoted to being an entertainment news reporter and producer at the Nation Media Group (NMG).
During this time, he co-hosted various shows including the Trend alongside CNN news reporter, Larry Madowo.
He later joined Citizen TV where he broadcasted news across different parts of the country with different segments.
It was during his time at Citizen TV when things started going south and started struggling with mental illnesses.
