Good news for baby Fidelis as President Kenyatta donates Sh500,000 for surgery
President Uhuru Kenyatta has donated Sh500,000 to aid baby Fidelis Muthoni who needs urgent medical attention in Canada.
The Head of State made the pledge on a vernacular radio station Friday morning following heart-breaking revelation that the baby’s funds amounting to Sh2.8 million – raised from well-wishers – had been pocketed by a conman.
The Foreign Affairs ministry will, on its part, arrange and facilitate the baby’s travel to Canada where she is scheduled for surgery to correct a life-threatening frontal bone defect known as Frontal Encephalocele.
Murang’a County Women Representative Sabina Chege is expected to get the money from President Kenyatta’s handlers at State House, Nairobi as arrangements are made to have the baby travel to receive treatment as soon as possible.
The one-and-a-half-year-old baby is suffering from a rare condition known as congenital malfunction Hydrocephalus which is a build-up of cerebral spinal fluid accumulating in the brain.
Francis Wanjau, the man accused of conning the Muranga’ family Sh 2.8 million was arrested on Thursday and taken to Muthangari Police station.
SURGERY IN CANADA
The baby had been booked for surgery in Canada but the family lacked funds. Her family said a team of doctors from Canada had offered to treat her for free if they paid for her flight and six-month stay.
Ms Muthoni’s family said Mr Wanjau, a close relative, volunteered to conduct the funds drive, but the money was withdrawn without their knowledge and the ailing baby was never treated.
“The paybill account number transcripts that we got from Safaricom indicated that Sh2.8 million had been deposited into the account and later withdrawn,” said Muthoni’s father Kenneth Kinuthia.
Kinuthia added that he had also given Mr Wanjau Sh155,000 from a church fundraiser to deposit into the medical funds account.
On Thursday, the Director of Digital Communication at the Office of the President, Dennis Itumbi who was largely involved in the funds drive campaign on Thursday said the incident shows humanity had deserted the human race.
“This case is a clear indication that cybercrime has gone a notch higher and some people no longer have a sense of humanity,” he said.
“There are many foundations conning people online and we were tirelessly working to crackdown on them. Kenyans be warned.”