Isiolo County ambulance driver found ferrying timber sacked
Men load timber into an ambulance belonging to the Isiolo County government. The driver of vehicle has been sacked following public outcry after this photo went viral. PHOTO | VIVIAN JEBET.
What you need to know:
Dr Kuti said he has received complaints that the driver of the ambulance has been demanding bribes from patients seeking emergency services.
He also warned county drivers that they risk being sacked if found conducting similar activities or misusing public property.
The ambulance driver was a causal employee.
Isiolo Governor Mohamed Kuti has sacked a driver of an ambulance spotted carrying timber.
This follows a public outcry after pictures of men loading timber into one of the county’s ambulances surfaced online early this week.
Dr Kuti said he and the county Health department learnt about the matter from social media platforms, adding that he has received complaints that the driver of the ambulance has been demanding bribes from patients seeking emergency services.
“This is misuse of public property. I have heard several cases from residents complaining that the driver of the ambulance was demanding some money to attend to emergency cases,” said the governor.
Residents in online posts congratulated the governor’s move saying the ambulance should be attending to the sick who are in need of referrals, especially from remote areas of the three sub-counties of Isiolo.
Governor Kuti, also the Council of Governors (COG) Health Committee chairman, said his administration will come up with transport departments and identify a transport officer who will supervise all the county vehicles and streamline the transport sector.
He also warned county drivers that they risk being sacked if found conducting similar activities or misusing public property.
The ambulance driver was a casual employee.
The governor lauded residents for raising the alarm on the misuse of the ambulance, saying several referral systems had stalled while in the hands of unqualified staff.
