Maragua: Well-Wishers Raise KSh 500k For Family Unable To Bury Their Elderly Mum Over KSh 3.8m Bill

• Edith Ndirangu is a hopeful woman after well-wishers came to her family's aid and raised KSh 500,000 so that their dead mum's body could be released from hospital
• According to Edith, their mum started getting unwell in 2020 for various treatments, and it was only in July 2023 that they discovered she had a brain tumour
• Shortly after her diagnosis, they were told that their mum was cancer-free, but when the elderly woman realised they couldn't make the bill, she sunk into depression

Thanks to the generous donation of KSh 500,000 from well-wishers, a family in Maragua, Murang'a county now has a glimmer of hope in paying off their mother's substantial hospital bill. They may now have a chance to give her a proper burial.

Mum gets treated for ulcers in 2020

In an interview with TUKO. Co. ke, the late woman's daughter, Edith Wanjiku Irungu, said that their mum started getting sick in 2020, and they have been trying to help her regain full health.

"She has been going to the hospital, and they have all along been treating her for ulcers; she even had stomach surgery. It is only in July 2023, that a scan was done, and we discovered that she had a brain tumour and it was in stage four," she said.

"She got better and all was well until she learned that the bill then was KSh 2.7 million. She sunk into depression because she knew she was unable to raise it, yet she had been discharged. Shortly afterwards, she died," said the devastated daughter.

Family sells land to settle the bill

By the time they were seeking to bury their mum, the bill stood at KSh 3.8 million, and since they didn't have it, they sold land and got KSh 2.5 million.

When the family presented the money to the hospital, which had allegedly detained their mum's body, they were told to go and prepare for the burial of their loved one.

Despite the agreement, they were not given the body of the deceased on the agreed day; the dejected family went back home and planted a banana stem in the grave they had prepared. Most African cultures don't allow a grave to be covered without a body or symbol of the body.

"I am just asking myself how did it get to this point? Which kind of hospital is this that tells people to go prepare themselves than change their minds on the material day?" posed philanthropist Karangu Muraya.

"I will be a happy man when parliament passes a motion that when one dies in hospital, it will not punish the family because of the huge bills. If I had power, that hospital would have released the body with immediate effect, or they return that KSh 2.5 million so that they go and buy another piece of land," said Karangu.

Karangu then led his online brigade in raising 0.5 million for the family and hoped that this time, the hospital would give them an ear.

"We are very grateful to Kenyans; they have really helped us. We are hoping that the hospital will give us the body tomorrow, December 12, so that we can go and bury it," said Edith.

To contribute to the family, one can use 0740927150.

Karangu Muraya washes feet of ailing apostle

In another story, Kenyan philanthropist Karangu Muraya captured the hearts of many as he tenderly washed the feet of the ailing Apostle John Paul Macharia.

Muraya's act of kindness, shared through poignant photos on his Facebook page, quickly gained widespread attention and garnered an outpouring of praise and admiration.

The images depicted Muraya, clad in a humble ensemble of blue jeans shorts and a white vest, kneeling beside Apostle Macharia, who sits on the edge of a bed.