Zainab Kamara who had a scissors stuck on her abdomen has died, after she went through a surgical operation at the Masanga Hospital in Tonkolili District, the Northern part of Sierra Leone, to remove the abandoned scissors that was stuck in her abdomen for seven years.

According to Mabinty M Kamara of Politico Newspaper, Local doctors at the Port Loko Government Hospital in 2014 reportedly conducted the first caesarean operation on Zainab during which she lost the baby. But during the process, the doctors forgot the scissors in her abdomen. Because of this Zainab had difficulty moving her right leg and endured persistent bleeding which brought her discomfort and stigmatization among her peers and ex-husband. She only came to know that the instrument was in her abdomen, after a pelvic x-ray was carried out on her at the Kambia Government Hospital this year.

Since Politico first broke the story seven months ago, not a single statement was issued out by the Medical and Dental Association of Sierra Leone or Officials in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. Independent sources says that doctors are quick to agitate for issues related to their members but shockingly remained muted over what was considered gross ineptitude by surgeons that operated on Zainab, a malfeasance that could have warranted probing and severe disciplinary action, including barring the culprit from ever practicing again or court action.

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Makalay Sonda, women and girls rights campaigner, described the death of the 28 years old as unfortunate and unforgiving, noting that teachers were paraded at the famous cotton tree in Freetown for corruption allegations. But the doctors that paved the way for the early demise of Zainab are sleeping and enjoying themselves.

“No investigation, imagine how many have died because of these deadly mistakes and negligence in the theatres and wards of our hospitals. Our health system in this country is killing us. If a place of cure, solace and hope turns into a deadly dungeon, then what do we do? She said while calling for justice to be served to the lady, by bringing the doctors responsible to book.

However Ishiaka Kamara, elder brother to Zainab, told politico that no effort could bring them the much-needed justice for the death of their sister caused by systemic negligence. He added that his sister suffered a lot before her demise and that even in death, she had to be buried from her home town which is kambia, because they could not afford a vehicle to convey her corpse as the hospital could not provide an ambulance service.’

“We are Muslims and so we believe in God for the ultimate justice. We do not have money and cannot fight the powerful, so we are leaving everything to God for his final judgment. If it’s the right thing they did to her then let God hold them to account for their actions” he says.

The President of Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), Femi Coker, said as a women’s right group, WIMSAL is not going to relent on the call for justice. She added that it will help save many other people from such errors that have leaded them to their early graves. The Authorities have failed not only Zainab but the rest of sierra Leoneans who depend on the public health system for a cure. We all know that errors can occur in any profession including ours(journalism) but one has to be willing and ready to take responsibility for whatever damage your actions may cause” she said.