'I now have anxiety and panic attacks,’ Grace Njoki recalls events leading to her dramatic arrest

Anxiety, sleepless nights and fear have been Grace Njoki Mulei’s life from the day she walked into Afya House to seek a solution on the Social Health Authority (SHA) system failure.

Before Ms. Mulei boldly stormed the media conference of Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa on January 15, 2025, she was unknown to the public. In the televised encounter, the registered SHA member demanded that the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) treat her and other Kenyans.

According to Ms. Mulei, she did not think that she would face that kind of retribution; “when I went to Afya House, I was just looking for a solution.”

“It was like a horror story, I wake up at 2am with panic attacks, I had to take a sedative to sleep. I can’t leave the house without an escort because of the stress and intimidation I went through,” she recalled.

Ms. Mulei, a retired nurse, had issues with her knee for a while and according to her, at KNH, she and other patients were informed that the systems were down and they instantly felt helpless.

“As a former healthcare person, I got concerned for several patients especially the mother who had breathlessness because of Cesarean Section just among the few. It troubled me that people had been there for days and had run out of money because those who did not have people to host them spent money on hotel accommodation,” she said.

“The next day, SHA still wasn’t working, I decided to assist the best way I knew how - walk into the SHA office to get pre-authorization and approval.”

On a mission to find a solution, she asked the patients who were able to accompany her to follow her lead because the former nurse knew if the systems were not working there is always a Plan B.

She describes the event at Afya House as a culmination of two days of what she had witnessed at KNH.

“They directed us to Afya House fourth floor for further assistance, we were further directed to sixth floor unfortunately no one knew what was happening at KNH. I was hoping to get help so when we got in, I just got worked up and I felt frustrated moving from one office to another without a solution,” she said.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to address the Cabinet Secretary, and they were later informed that the systems had resumed working and they headed back to the hospital.

Nine days later, Ms. Mulei was arrested from Nairobi’s Ladnan Hospital where she had gone for consultation. Ignoring protests by Ladnan doctors and administrators, no less than ten uniformed police officers dragged her through the hospital and drove her to Capitol Hill Police Station.

“I had gone to seek treatment at Ladnan Hospital because I was sick and I saw a security person I had seen in Kenyatta. I sensed I was being followed but he claimed he had a patient. When I went to collect my results he appeared from nowhere, greeted me and asked what I was there for. I could identify him but he claimed he had a patient," she narrated.

The now viral footage of her arrest shows Ms. Mulei fighting every step of the way as officers pulled her by force. Despite a painful knee in urgent need of surgery, hyper-tension and diabetes, the ailing mother was detained overnight.

“Less than 10 minutes later a man and a lady came and said they wanted to take me somewhere. I asked where and what I had done. They refused to tell me. I asked why they were arresting me they refused to say. They said I was not being arrested but one told me ‘upende usipende, utatoka hapa!’” She recalled.

Kenyans expressed outrage over the arrest, with the incident drawing widespread condemnation.

“I felt like I was being abducted, I did not know who I was dealing with and where they were taking me, that’s when I started shouting that I was being abducted, they dragged me and I actually have marks on my hand. It was a harrowing experience. It was so scary, I thought I was walking to my death, one gentleman called me Mungiki telling me that he will shave my hair because it is illegal to have dreadlocks in Kenya,” she said.

Having had a sick sister and being in healthcare service, Ms. Mulei knew how the system worked when there was an issue.

“I know it is not over until we get it right and I have hope. I do not have a personal vendetta against the government, I have used SHA before and it is been working and it has approved my operation but I was just asking the government to face the gaps,” she added.