By PASCAL MWANDAMBO
Despite the hot Sunday afternoon, five boys play a football made of tattered nylon paper at Mwakingali village in Voi town, Taita-Taveta County.
As they shove, push and tackle, Simon Mjomba, eleven, breaks out from the vigorous activity and walks to a nearby shade and sits on a stone.
LIFE GOES ON: After losing his arm, Simon Mjombaâs physical wound has healed, but he is yet to adjust emotionally. [PHOTO: PASCAL MWANDAMBO/STANDARD]
His playmates urge him to continue playing, but he tells them he is tired and wants to be left alone.
That is what Mjomba often does when a game turns rough. It probably reminds him of the freak accident last January that led to his right arm being amputated.
Although the physical scars have healed, the boy is no longer the same jovial Mjomba who enjoyed fun at school.
The Standard Five pupil did not attend classes last term after he fell off a tree while playing.
The reality that he has lost his right hand haunts him. Sometimes he hides in a corner and cries. He cries because he actually didnât have to lose his arm if it were not for a health workerâs misconduct at the Moi Hospital in Voi.
Ignored him
When he was taken to hospital, it is reported that medics at the facility ignored him. If they had attended to him immediately, perhaps his arm would be intact.
Now human rights activists in Voi want the hospital penalised for neglect.
