Blood on the Ward: KNH Patient Arrested After Chilling Murder — Linked to Past Killing

By Kennedy Nalyanya

A murder mystery has rocked Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) after detectives arrested Kennedy Kalombotole, a patient who is now the prime suspect in the brutal killing of another admitted patient, just meters away from his own hospital bed.

Kalombotole, who has been receiving treatment at the facility since December 1, 2024, was taken into custody by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Thursday evening. His arrest follows the gruesome murder of Edward Maingi Ndegwa, a fellow patient admitted to Ward 7B, Group C (Male).

According to a detailed report by the DCI, Maingi had been stable when last checked by a nurse at 11:30 a.m. and again by a visiting relative who left around 1:30 p.m. But just 30 minutes later, horror unfolded.

A cleaner making rounds on the seventh floor spotted a pool of blood around Maingi’s neck, sparking immediate alarm. Detectives quickly responded to the scene, discovering a trail of bloody slipper prints leading from the victim’s bedside to a nearby toilet, and then to a side room — where Kalombotole was found admitted.

In a chilling twist, officers recovered a blood-stained knife wrapped in gloves, directly beneath the window of Ward 7B. The weapon has been handed over to the National Forensic Laboratory for analysis.

But this is not Kalombotole’s first brush with violence. He is also the prime suspect in the unsolved murder of Gilbert Kinyua Muthoni, another patient at KNH, who was killed in Ward 7C during the night of February 6–7, 2025.

A case file had been submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) earlier this year, but the ODPP requested further investigations to tighten the case.

Now, with a second death under similar circumstances, pressure is mounting on authorities to determine whether a serial killer has been hiding in plain sight — within the very wards meant to offer care and healing.

As investigations intensify, the DCI has assured the public that forensic evidence and surveillance reviews are ongoing, and a full report will soon be presented to the ODPP for action.