Editor's Review

  • The court heard that the deceased was not attended to despite being admitted at the facility. 
  • The hospital and doctor in charge will pay the award. 

Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioner Thomas Letangule has been awarded Sh2.6 million.  

The award is compensation for his wife’s death during childbirth. In the ruling, Family Care Medical Centre and Doctor Eric Sagwa have been ordered to pay the money with interest by Justice Lucy Njuguna.

Letangule’s wife, Esther Letangule, died on April 2013 at the facility.  In the ruling, Justice Njuguna said the death of the deceased was not instantaneous as she underwent hours of prolonged suffering from the time she went into the facility.

“She went with the hope of receiving treatment in the morning, to the time of her death at about 6 pm on the material date,” noted the Judge. 

Letangule had told the court that on April 10, 2013, his wife visited Family Medical Care Centre for antenatal care and complained of blurred vision, swelling of the limbs and face and a severe headache.

Upon arriving at the Family Care Medical Centre in Nairobi, she wasn’t immediately attended to despite being admitted to the facility. Her condition deteriorated, leading to her death on April 10, the same day she was admitted to the hospital.

Letangule told the court that his wife who died aged 37 years would have worked for a period approximately 31 years taking into account the official retirement age of 60 years.