Woman leaves for South Korea to have electric limbs fitted

Jackline Mwende (right) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on September 26, 2016 before leaving for South Korea to have electric limbs fitted. She was accompanied by Helen Kanini (left), a nurse. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • One scar runs from the top of her head up to the ear, while another covers the lower side of the face, disfiguring the once pretty look.

  • But hope is in sight for 27-year-old Jackline Mwende, who was allegedly beaten up and her two hands chopped off by her husband over her failure to bear children.

Her scarred face and the bandaged stumps of her hands leave one wondering how human beings can be so cruel to others.

One scar runs from the top of her head up to the ear, while another covers the lower side of the face, disfiguring the once pretty look.

But hope is in sight for 27-year-old Jackline Mwende, who was allegedly beaten up and her two hands chopped off by her husband over her failure to bear children.

Ms Mwende is set for a 10-day trip to Daihan Prosthetic Labs Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, to be fitted with electronic prosthetic limbs, with LG Electronics footing the bill.

She was elated that she would be able to resume her normal life after the artificial limbs are fitted.

Before her husband Stephen Ngila Nthenge, 34, allegedly attacked her, she was a shopkeeper in Machakos County.

“I wish to lead a normal life as I did in the past,” Ms Mwende told journalists at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, yesterday just before she boarded a flight to South Korea.

“I’m thankful to the Machakos County government, which gave me the first help, the doctors at PCEA Kikuyu Hospital, who treated me, and the company that is paying for my treatment,” she said.

Dr Michael Maru, the chief orthopaedic surgeon at PCEA Kikuyu Hospital, said she would regain 80 per cent of the use of her hands.

NOT SURGERY

Dr Maru clarified that Ms Mwende was not going for surgery but to be fitted with the limbs.

“At our hospital, we cleaned the stumps and fashioned them in readiness for the fitting,” he said.

“After she comes back, we will continue to monitor her. The insurance for the limbs will be covered by LG Electronics,” the doctor added.

In South Korea, she will not only be fitted with the limbs, but also trained by doctors on how to use them properly.

LG will spend about Sh3 million to pay the bill in South Korea and at the PCEA Kikuyu Hospital, where she was treated.

Marketing general manager Moses Marji said LG was happy Ms Mwende was able to get the help she required.

“We are very happy that we took care of her. We supported her at PCEA Kikuyu Hospital and now at the hospital in South Korea,” he said.

Mr Marji said Ms Mwende would be accompanied by Ms Hellen Kanini, a nurse from Machakos County.

“She will also be trained on how to use her limbs. Once she is back, we will continuously monitor her,” he added.