All quintuplets born to Juja woman die at KNH

• The premature infants were moved to KNH shortly after birth at Thika Level Five Hospital due to their extremely low birth weights and the need for intensive newborn care.

All five of the quintuplets born to Mercy Kanini, the Juja woman whose rare multiple birth made headlines earlier this week, have died at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where they had been receiving specialised newborn care.

In a press statement dated September 16, 2026, KNH said the babies had been referred to the facility from Thika Level Five Hospital for tertiary care shortly after birth.

They were born at an extremely premature gestational age of 25 weeks, weighing between 630 and 800 grammes, placing them at high risk due to extreme prematurity.

According to the hospital, a multidisciplinary neonatal team comprising neonatologists, nurses and allied health professionals provided specialised care and made every effort to support the infants from the time of admission.

Despite those efforts, all five newborns passed away, with the fifth infant dying a day after the other four.

"KNH is deeply saddened by this devastating loss and extends its most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the mother and the entire family," the hospital said in the statement signed by Dr. Joel Lessan, OGW, Acting Chief Executive Officer. "We recognize the profound pain of losing five newborns and stand with the family during this extraordinarily difficult period."

Kanini's pregnancy had lasted six months, and the delivery was considered a rare occurrence, believed to be one of only five such cases recorded in Kenya's history. It was her third pregnancy, having previously given birth to a boy and a girl.

Her husband, Evans Nyamhanga, had described the birth as a miracle at the time, noting that the couple had expected four babies. "I was expecting four babies but God has been a God of miracles, we have got five," he said, while appealing for financial support to help the family cope with the demands of caring for the newborns.