40 Patients Escape Psychiatric Hospital, 30 Still On The Run

Of the 40 patients who escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Kenya, only 10 have returned to the facility.

Dozens of people reportedly fled the Mathari Mental Hospital in Nairobi on Sunday morning. Security officers prevented an additional 35 from escaping. It’s believed the patients overpowered the guards before managing to force open the door to their ward.

“Many scaled over the wall and went through Mathare area and a few confident ones used the main gate. When they are traced they should be brought back for their medication,” Police Chief Samuel Anampiu explained.

He added, “They must have strategized. It is not possible that, without proper planning, 75 people can break two doors and more than half of them run away.”

It’s currently believed that 30 patients are still unaccounted for at the psychiatric hospital in Kenya. Anampiu is concerned about these individuals getting the medication they need in order to treat their illnesses.

“We are now talking of 30 mental patients who are not back. Some have come back on their own volition while some were captured and brought back by their relatives,” the police chief said.

Two of the patients who escaped from the hospital later returned on their own free will. Eight of the escapees were brought back to the facility by their families. This mean that 30 of the 40 patients who escaped the psychiatric hospital are still on the loose.

It’s being reported that the patients staged their escape after lodging complaints about the effectiveness of their medication. Although doctors at the biggest psychiatric hospital in Kenya believe these individuals do not pose a threat to public safety, they do require medication to treat their conditions.

Authorities are currently searching for the missing patients. The police chief said officers have “all their particulars and including their pictures and that will make it easy for us to identify them.”

What do you think about the 40 patients who managed to escape from a psychiatric hospital in Kenya?

[Image via Oleg Znamenskiy / Shutterstock.com]