County bloggers slammed for tasteless PR stunt after Wairimu's death
Bloggers allied to the county government angered users when their pro-mother baby wing content was termed insensitive.
Following heavy criticism of the Nakuru level 5 mother baby wing after the death of Elizabeth Wairimu, bloggers allied to the county administration now find themselves in hot soup as they tried to cleanse the hospital’s bad image.
In what has been described as a deeply insensitive attempt to distract from the pain, they circulated videos and posters highlighting how 'well' the maternal unit is doing, all while the family is still grieving.
One of these promotional posters boasts that the maternal unit handles 40 deliveries per day, 300 per week, and over 1,200 monthly.
But what seemed to irk Nakuru residents was not the data but the timing of it and how one-sided the information was, with some asking to know the numbers of maternal and neonatal deaths as well.
Through the county government’s official TikTok page, Nakuru County at Its Best, this promotional video was proudly shared for optics.
If only the county was this loud when it came to solving real problems instead of just posting content to leave a paper trail maybe Nakuru’s healthcare system wouldn’t always feel like it’s teetering on a death scale.
Several social media users voiced their concerns about this promotional content amidst the crisis.
One of the posts that evoked a lot of anger was, “Many mothers are grateful to Governor Susan Kihika because it is under her leadership that they have the pleasure of being called parents,” by Whispers from Dkash to which a user responded, “Pure mockery kwanza from a woman that is pure trash.”
Another angry user opined, “Mtu anapewa 200 ya 2 weeks anakuja kutetea ujinga? How much have you been paid?”
Someone from a WhatsApp group named Sauti ya Nakuru says, “She (Wairimu) needed a doctor. Nakuru gave her bureaucracy. Now a child is motherless, and a husband broken.”
Another one said, “There have always been success stories — it’s the norm in any county government elected by the people. Leaders use them to appear accountable to Wanjiku. Just like when HIV drugs expired — they explained it away perfectly. Same with the baby case — they only acted when the DCI took over the investigation.”
A pressing question being, is this the time to rub salt inside the injured hearts of Susan Wanjiku, Wairimu’s mother and Benson Kinuyanjui, her husband, who are still hurting from how Wairimu’s case was handled?