NAIROBI: Mystery deepened in the parliamentary probe into the alleged Pumwani Hospital twins theft saga after the Government Chemist disclosed that a DNA examination conducted on the bodies revealed that the two were not blood-related.
Assistant Government Chemist Joseph Kimani told the Senate Committee on Health that the DNA of the bodies presented to him as those of “twins” did not match and that they were not in any way related.
Dr Kimani further revealed that his analysis revealed that neither Dedan Kimathi nor Jecinta Wanjiku, who were the alleged parents of the twins, were the biological parents of the twins.
“Based on the DNA examination, I made the findings that these two (parents) were excluded as the biological parents. Further, the genetics of the two DNA profiles proved that the deceased were not identical twins, they do not even belong to any same family,” revealed Dr Kimani.
The hospital's position that Mrs Wanjiku had had a stillbirth was dealt a further blow after Chief Government Pathologist Johannsen Oduor told the committee that tests on the bodies indicated that the infants died after delivery.
Wanjiku is accusing the hospital of swapping her twins on delivery, insisting that contrary to the hospital’s position that she had a stillbirth, she safely delivered her babies and even heard them cry.
In its defence, the hospital insists that Wanjiku, who went into labour just before she had a caesarian section, delivered dead babies, insisting that they were the same bodies that were produced for the post-mortem.
But Dr Oduor dealt the institution a major blow after he said his examination revealed aspects of foul play.
“The contention was whether the babies were born dead or alive. From the post-mortem, all indications were that the babies died after birth,” said the pathologist.
Oduor said that he realised the discrepancies immediately he saw the bodies and counter-checked the accompanying notes prepared by doctors from Pumwani.
Following the new revelations, Isiolo Senator Mohammed Kuti, the chairman of the Senate committee, said they needed to recall staff from the hospital to respond to the serious queries raised by the pathologist and Government Chemist.
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