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Article

25 Mar 2017

Author:
Kamau Muthoni, Standard Digital (Kenya)

Kenya: Rape victim sues Nairobi Hospital for misplacing specimen leading to acquittal of suspect

“Rape victim sues a Nairobi hospital for missing test results”

 Nairobi Hospital is embroiled in a legal battle with a rape victim after claims that it lost crucial medical evidence that would have been used to net the perpetrator. A 29-year-old woman named DNN wants the hospital…to compensate her after the doctor who attended to her reportedly informed her that the swab sample got lost…In 2014, DNN's family was attacked and members tortured by a gang that also killed their two dogs….

 Court papers show that a suspect was arrested in connection with the robbery and the woman was required to produce the swabs for the investigators to compare the DNA. However, they were not forthcoming. The case went, minus the DNA tests, and the suspect, identified as Edwin Misango, was released in August last year for lack of evidence. Principal Magistrate P.O. Ooko, while releasing Misango, noted that there was no evidence to jail him. Also, the court found that it was not possible for the family to identify the attackers due to darkness…

 In its reply, the hospital admitted that the specimen got lost but termed the loss as accidental. "The loss of the plaintiff's specimen was purely accidental and not as a result of negligence or default on the part of the defendant. The defendant at all times exercised reasonable skill and care while treating the plaintiff," the hospital said.