The Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), Thogoto says it has launched investigations into the chilling revelations of mistreatment of elderly persons at PCEA Thogoto Care Home for the Aged in Kikuyu, Kiambu County.
The church said Monday it is working with concerned parties on the ground and the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted.
“As a church, we have learned from social media of the circulating information about Thogoto Home for the Aged. As a responsible church, we wish to state the following… We do not condone any unjust or inhumane treatment to any member of the society whether young or old and especially our senior members within the community.
“We have began investigations over the allegations and any misconduct will be dealt with according to our church procedures and in accordance to the law of the land,” reads the statement.
“We are working with the concerned parties on the ground and NCCK to ensure we do a thorough investigation and we shall release the full findings to the public in due course.”
They told those with their loved ones at the home they are safe.
“We need to make it very clear that those with aged members of their families housed at Thogoto Home for the Aged need not be alarmed as their family members are well and safe,” added the statement.
In an exposé done by the BBC, two undercover journalists, who had their loved ones admitted into the facility, got employed inside the premise armed with hidden cameras and got to film the injustice served on the elderly.
The home is said to have been established by the Women’s Guild of the local PCEA church but managed independently.
In one of the secretly-filmed videos, a resident was left unattended while eating food dumped on a table.
One of the undercover journalists said that she could not bare witnessing the heart wrenching conditions the elderly were put through, noting that the premise warrants death to its residents.
This has caused uproar online with many calling for action on those behind the mistreatment.