Sh693,000 paid, clinic closed, woman died: Court hears chilling cosmetic surgery tale

A Nairobi court has heard that a cosmetic clinic closed its doors immediately after receiving Sh693,000 from a woman for a surgical procedure that later claimed her life, leaving her family scrambling for help as her condition rapidly deteriorated.

Testifying before Principal Magistrate Christine Njagi at the Kibera High Court, Mr Francis Nganga Mundia told the court that his wife, Lucy Wambui Kamau, died from severe complications following liposuction and a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedure carried out at Body by Design clinic in Nairobi.

BBL is a cosmetic surgery that reshapes and enlarges the buttocks using a person’s own body fat, rather than implants.

“My wife was discharged when she was clearly unwell, and when we rushed her back, the clinic was already closed,” Mr Mundia testified.

“There was only a watchman at the gate.”

The clinic’s operators--Dr Robert Maweu Mutula and Body by Design directors George Wakaria Njoroge and Lilian Edna Wanjiru Mwariri--are facing a manslaughter charge over Wambui’s death.

Omnicare Medical Limited was trading as Body by Design, along Kabarsiran Avenue.

Court heard that documentary evidence showed Wambui paid Sh693,000 for the cosmetic surgery.

“She paid the full amount,” Mr Mundia said.

“I saw the receipt.”

Mr Mundia told the court that his wife discovered the clinic through online advertisements aggressively marketing cosmetic and surgical procedures.

“She saw the advert on October 10, 2024,” he said.

“I opposed the surgery, but she insisted.”

According to his testimony, when he visited his wife on October 17, 2024, a day after the procedure, her condition was alarming.

“She complained of severe abdominal pain and could hardly breathe,” he told the court.

“Her clothes were soaked with blood and body fluids.”

He said the situation worsened the following day.

“When I unwrapped her abdomen, blood and fluids were still oozing, and there was a strong fecal smell,” Mr Mundia testified.

Despite his repeated concerns, he said clinic staff downplayed the symptoms.

“They told me it was normal and that she would heal,” he said.

In testimony that deepened the intrigue around the clinic’s conduct, Mr Mundia said his wife was discharged on October 22, 2024, at around 4:30pm, despite not having recovered.

“Within 10 minutes of reaching home, her condition worsened,” he said.

The family rushed her back to the clinic, only to find it shut.

“The clinic had closed immediately after discharging her,” Mr Mundia said.

“We had no choice but to rush her to Nairobi Hospital.”

The most emotional moment in court came as Mr Mundia recalled a phone call from his wife the following day.

“She called me and told me, ‘Pray for me. I feel like I am going to die,’” he testified.

Moments later, he received an urgent call from Nairobi Hospital asking him to rush there.

Wambui died on October 26, 2024. Mr Mundia later reported the matter at Muthangari Police Station, triggering investigations.

A postmortem examination, he told the court, confirmed that she died from complications arising from the cosmetic surgery.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Directors of Public Prosecutions Maryann Mwangi and Duncan Ondimu.

The hearing continues.