Officer who helped Boniface Murage explains kind act

Police inspector Emmanuel Sanaet Tamooh was just scrolling on his phone, whiling away the time on social media.

It was around 9pm and he was about to go to bed. And then something caught his eye on Facebook; it was a post from Citizen Television about the story of a man who had been arraigned in court for attempting to defraud Kenyatta National Hospital.

MEDICAL BILLS

He could not afford to pay his wife’s and newborn baby's medical bills, hence tried to walk out of the hospital without clearing a Sh56,937 debt. To Inspector Tamooh, this was just a poor man. Yes, he made a wrong choice but he didn’t choose to be poor.

As a law enforcement officer, he knew Boniface Murage was wrong but he didn't judge him. He understood that no kind of punishment would change the situation or make the debt cleared. The bill had to be settled.

Before he shut his eyes that night, Monday, February 18, 2019, he knew exactly what he was going to do the next day. He was to wake up, go to KNH and settle that debt and then proceed with his daily duties.

The father of a two-year-old son had other financial obligations on his part but was determined to help Mr Murage. Come Tuesday, he used public transport to get to KNH. But on reaching there, he learnt that someone else, an Indian, had already paid Sh60,000 to clear the pending bill.

He asked for the couple's phone number but there was none since they both did not have mobile phones. He also learnt that Mr Murage's wife was discharged the previous night. He was advised by the hospital try his luck at the courts where Mr Murage had been arraigned.

He took a matatu again to Milimani Law courts so that he could try and meet with Mr Murage.

He had already made up his mind to part with the Sh 56,000 so the meeting with Mr Murage was meant to be a chance to give him the cash money.

But the cameras could not stop rolling and chasing after the man he desperately needed to speak to, privately. Time too was ticking.

“It was not intentional for him but life’s circumstances and hardships had pushed him that point. By good luck, I arrived just as the case was ongoing,” said Mr Tamooh.

During the interview with Daily Nation, Mr Tamooh recalled how he found himself at the Dusit D2 hotel on the day it was attacked.

He was attending an Inspectors meeting at Westland’s when they suddenly heard gun shots. Another police officer notified them on phone that there was robbery in a bank at the said complex.

The phone call notification led to the abrupt end of that meeting and they rushed at the hotel, eight of them. It is then that they realized it was not a robbery but a terrorist attack!

The 32-year-old was born and raised in Oloikirikirai village in Mau-Narok, went to Oloikirikirai primary and Narok boys High School.

He has an undergraduate degree in Education having graduated from Kenyatta University as a teacher of Kiswahili and Christian Religious Education.

He was first employed by the Teachers Service Commission at Ewaso girls but dropped it to join the police service in 2011 having worked for just one year, a move that surprised his colleagues who had not yet been employed by TSC.

However as a police officer his first posting was in Wajir. He is currently based in Kangemi, Nairobi and has been in the rank of an inspector since 2015, having graduated as a cadet officer.

To Mr Tamooh, he acted as a common man, is not seeking any kind of attention and loves his job in the service more than teaching.

“I am like this I find myself helping people, this is not the first time, it happens and it’s no big deal anyone else can help someone,” he said.