The mysterious Kalombotole and KNH murder horror

In the corridors of Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where saving lives is a daily ritual, a chilling mystery has been quietly unfolding—more psychological thriller than routine clinical affair.

At the centre of it is a man known only by a name no one can verify: Kennedy Kalombotole.

He has no known relatives, no confirmed identity, and no documented origin. Yet, over the past three years, he has lived within Kenya’s largest referral hospital—admitted, discharged, readmitted, and, strangely, tolerated.

Twice now, within a span of five months, two patients have been brutally murdered in the same hospital block occupied by Kalombotole.

Both victims were found with their throats slit. Both killings occurred in Ward 7B. Kalombotole is the prime suspect in each case.

The latest killing took place on July 17, 2025. Edward Maingi Ndegwa, a patient in Ward 7B, Level C, had been visited by a relative around midday. Less than an hour later, a cleaner noticed a pool of blood beneath his bed—his throat had been slashed.

Detectives followed a trail of blood from the body to a nearby room, where they discovered Kalombotole’s blue slippers and a bedsheet, both stained with blood. A knife, wrapped in gloves, was later found outside the building directly beneath the ward’s window.

Ndegwa had been admitted to KNH on July 12. He was attacked and killed five days later under circumstances police say remain suspicious and unresolved.

Even as detectives gather a trail to the gruesome murder, nothing seems straightforward when it comes to the suspect Kalombotole.

No identity

Despite his lengthy stay, Kalombotole officially remains a ‘ghost’. He has no identification documents. Multiple fingerprint scans have yielded nothing in government records and social media appeals by the hospital to find relatives went unanswered.

According to KNH, Kalombotole was first admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in November 2022, before being transferred to a general ward.

“Being a homeless person with no known relatives nor proven identity, he stayed on in the hospital even as the hospital made several attempts to identify him through fingerprint identification and also through our social media pages,” said the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer Dr William Sigilai in a statement.

In June 2024, the hospital was able to secure a home for him and he was discharged. However, he fell ill again in December 2024 and was readmitted to KNH, later discharged in January 2025. But the home refused to take him back for unspecified reasons.

Thus, a man with no known past continued to live in a public hospital—not because he was sick, but because no one knew what to do with him.

Even after the first murder—of 40-year-old Gilbert Kinyua, killed on the night of February 7, 2025, in Ward 7C—the hospital continued to house Kalombotole. In that case, too, a knife was found on the ground below the window of the deceased’s ward.

He was flagged by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) as a person of interest. But months passed. No arraignment. No charges. No progress. Just silence—and a man with a shadowy past sharing space with vulnerable patients.

According to Dr Sigilai, the DCI advised the hospital to retain him pending further investigations. KNH, he said, is still awaiting an outcome from the earlier probe.

Why, if Kalombotole was a suspect in the February murder, was he never charged? The DCI claims the case file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), but returned for additional evidence.

What remains deeply troubling is how and under what legal authority a civilian hospital ‘detained’ a suspected murderer in shared wards. 

“We emphasise that the suspect had been discharged, and the hospital had no intention of hosting him indefinitely. However, in the absence of viable alternatives and pending further direction from investigative agencies, we had no choice but to continue accommodating him,” said Dr Sigilai.

That “no choice”, as described by the hospital CEO, may have cost Edward Ndegwa his life.

Kalombotole—rejected by the care home secured by the hospital, undocumented by the State, and apparently undesired even by the hospital—remained.

No charges

Following Ndegwa’s murder, Kalombotole was presented before Kibera Magistrate Daisy Mutai. The magistrate directed that he be held at Kilimani Police Station for four more days until July 24, as investigators await medical records from KNH and Nairobi Women’s Hospital. 

The magistrate ordered the two hospitals to submit detailed medical records, noting that the reports will assist the court in determining whether the suspect, said to be unwell, had indeed been discharged or was still under treatment and is fit for continued detention.

“I direct the DCI to avail medical reports on the treatment of Kalombotole to show whether he has been discharged from KNH or not, and whether he is continuing with any treatment,” Mutai directed.

Despite his appearance in court, Kalombotole has not yet been formally charged with murder.

The DCI and ODPP are seeking a 21-day custodial extension to complete investigations.

And still, unanswered questions remain: Why was a murder suspect left unsupervised in a general ward? Was security ever enhanced following the first killing?

While KNH reported both incidents to the authorities, it now finds itself in the murky overlap between healthcare and criminal justice.

According to a sworn affidavit by Corporal Benard Muange of the DCI Homicide Bureau, police have yet to establish the true identity of the 28-year-old suspect.

“We are seeking more time to verify his identity. He had no documents and identified himself only as Kennedy Kalombotole,” said Muange, noting that KNH Records also indicate that no one has visited him since his admission.

“We are yet to obtain DNA samples from Kalombotole for comparison with evidence collected from the scene and the deceased’s body,” said Muange in a sworn affidavit.

DCI confirms that Kalombotole had been admitted since November 2024 and was only discharged on July 18, 2025—the day he was arrested.

“He has no fixed place of abode, making him a flight risk. If released, he could interfere with investigations or abscond altogether,” said Muange.

The DCI is seeking to conduct further forensic analysis, collect fingerprint impressions, perform a full autopsy, obtain witness statements, and conduct a mental health evaluation to assess Kalombotole’s fitness to stand trial for murder charges.

“The body of the deceased, Ndegwa, is yet to undergo a post-mortem by a government pathologist. This is a crucial step in determining the cause of death and any possible links to the suspect,” Muange stated. 

State Prosecutor Gikui Gichuhi cited public outrage over the hospital killings, arguing that releasing the suspect would pose a security threat and erode public confidence in the justice system.

“This case has elicited widespread public concern. Releasing the suspect now could endanger him and compromise trust in our institutions,” she said.

The court was told that Kalombotole requires a 10am daily injection. The prosecution noted that he had already missed one scheduled dose.

Though the ailment was not disclosed, the court was informed that he is still undergoing treatment at KNH.

However, the defense team, led by lawyers Joshua Ombengi and Zephaniah Chapa, opposed the custodial extension, insisting their client was unwell and should not be detained further. They argued that Kalombotole had already been discharged on Friday and put in custody while still undergoing treatment and that the DCI must provide medical proof of his condition.

“Although the suspect is an orphan with no known relatives, that should not be a basis to deny him bail,” Ombengi told the court.

The defense urged the court to compel the DCI to produce medical records from both KNH and Nairobi Women’s Hospital, where the suspect is said to have also received treatment.

After hearing both sides, Magistrate Mutai ordered Kalombotole to remain at Kilimani Police Station and to continue receiving medical care.

“The suspect shall continue receiving treatment while in custody until further orders. This matter will be mentioned again on July 24,” she ruled.