Panic has gripped residents of Kotunga area in Kisumu East Sub County after unknown thugs broke into Kotunga Dispensary on Monday October 20, 2025 at night, making away with a refrigerator, water dispenser, and other assorted medical items.
According to reports, the daring break-in occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight, leaving the facility’s cold chain for immunization in jeopardy.
The stolen refrigerator, which was used to store essential vaccines for children and expectant mothers, is feared to have crippled the facility’s ability to administer life-saving jabs.
Health officials say the theft could severely disrupt immunization schedules in the area, exposing infants to preventable diseases such as measles and tetanus.
“We are deeply concerned. The cold chain was broken, meaning vaccines that require low temperatures cannot be preserved. We may have to suspend immunization temporarily as we assess the damage,” said a senior health officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
For mothers and caregivers who rely on the dispensary for routine child immunization, the break-in has left them stranded.
“This is where we bring our babies every week. If the vaccines are gone, what are we supposed to do?” lamented one mother who arrived at the dispensary on Tuesday morning, only to find police at the scene.
Residents are now calling on county authorities to enhance security around public health facilities, citing a worrying rise in night break-ins targeting government institutions.
Security experts have suggested several measures, including: installation of CCTV cameras and alarm systems at all rural health facilities and deployment of night guards or community policing units to patrol vulnerable centers.
Local leaders have also suggested strengthening perimeter fencing and lighting to deter intruders and maintaining digital inventories to track and recover stolen public assets.
Police have launched investigations, with preliminary findings indicating that the burglars may have climbed over the gate to gain entry as footsteps also strongly suggest they may have used it as their exit.
The County Minister for health, Dr. Gregory Ganda, while condemning the incident, assured residents that efforts are underway to restore services.
“We are coordinating with the Ministry of Health to replace the stolen equipment. No mother or child should suffer because of criminal acts,” he said.
As the community reels from the shock, questions linger over how a public health facility could be left so exposed, and what the local administration will do to ensure such an attack never happens again.
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