A Kenyan woman claiming to have cancer of the liver, blood, and spleen has allegedly gone into hiding after an alert was raised against her continued fundraising alleging high cost of treatment abroad.
According to a story published by The Standard newspaper, the woman raised up to Sh18 million on crowd-funding through social media.
Investigations by the newspaper revealed that the ‘patient’, alias Betty Emmy, used an Mpesa number registered under a Beatrice Emmy Ochieng to collect donations from wellwishers.
When The Standard contacted the woman, she replied to Whatsapp messages and even shared a photo of herself lying in an ICU bed in an undisclosed hospital which she told the reporters that it was in Britain.
Betty had put up posters on Facebook proclaiming herself as a cancer warrior, but her Facebook account has since been deactivated.
In one poster that she shared on social media seeking funds through M-Pesa, Betty claimed to have been diagnosed with stage four primary liver cancer and stage three secondary lung cancer, which she claimed to have recovered from.
According to her posts, The Standard reports that ”her illness took a turn for the worse” and she is “now undergoing treatment in London and has since gone into remission”.
“I experienced a recurrence of secondary gastric cancer stage four and chronic lymphocytic leukemia stage three (brain metastasis) and I am currently battling one primary cancer and three secondary cancers. Please help Betty continue with her treatment in London,” read part of the poster.
A reputable cancer foundation that Betty had associated herself with as a cancer warrior has since distanced itself from her.
One lady who met Betty at KNH and supported her through her medical needs said she now suspects it must be a case of fraud.
Ms. Muriuki said she met Betty when she decided to celebrate her birthday with cancer patients at KNH, and that’s when Betty showed up. Betty told her that she needed Sh.273 million to treat her leukemia, kidney failure, and spleen damage.
At Ms. Muriuki’s birthday at KNH, Betty is said to have told her story to everyone present and after the event, she started asking for donations.
“This girl stole the show. She repeated her story to everyone who cared to listen and after the event, she started asking for cash from the group,” says Muriuki.
According to Ms. Muriuki, Betty used her WhatsApp group called “Friends on a Mission” to fundraise.
“She asked us to help her raise Sh40,000 for monthly reviews but we started having differences because our group was not solely formed to assist her,” said Muriuki.
Ms. Muriuki told The standard that through public pledges, the group was able to raise Sh. 18 million for Betty, who at that time claimed to have been suffering from liver cancer and said she needed to seek treatment in the UK.
According to the report, Betty was then scheduled to travel to London’s Royal Free Hospital for treatment, and she is said to have shared pictures which she said were taken from the facility.
Ms. Muriuki tried unsuccessfully to video-call Betty last Tuesday, but moments later she came back online and started asking for more money.
“She reached out to us seeking Sh12 million. When we demanded pictures from her she got really upset and even refunded Sh5,500,” said Muriuki.
On Sunday, Betty confirmed to The Standard that she had refunded the sum adding that she had some differences with Ms. Muriuki.
“My paybill has never even had Sh60,000. So the Sh15 million is a lie. I will prove it with bank statements,” she wrote.
Betty said that she will be flying back to Kenya to face her accusers. She said that a lot of lies have been told about her and that all she want is to clear her name
A call by The Standard to the UK hospital tied to Betty’s story is said to have revealed that there was no patient matching her details.
“I have already confirmed this to you. We have no such patient,” Official said as told by The Standard
Betty’s family member told the newspaper that they feel duped by her and they ”share the pain and feel what people are feeling”. A family member reported the matter to Ruaraka police station and it’s being investigated.
Betty is yet to tell her side of the story.
