John Matsekhe, the American doctor who owns St. Elizabeth Specialist Hospital in Busia, is now facing a storm of accusations after being exposed as a deadbeat father who allegedly fled Kenya to escape responsibility for a child he reportedly fathered with Kisumu socialite Lydia Oginga.
The claims have triggered a heavy public backlash, especially because he runs a multi-billion medical facility yet is accused of neglecting his own child.
Oginga went public with a long series of Facebook posts that quickly went viral, detailing years of emotional abandonment and financial neglect.
She shared screenshots of private WhatsApp conversations between her and Matsekhe, showing bitterness, and repeated arguments over support for their son.
In her posts, she describes how Matsekhe actively encouraged the idea of having a child in early and mid-2019, only for him to suddenly change his mind the moment she confirmed her pregnancy in August of that year.
She says he pretended to be ready for fatherhood but withdrew the moment responsibility became real, and during this period he allegedly hid the fact that he was married.
After she gave birth to her son Adon, everything reportedly changed. According to her account, Matsekhe cut off communication completely, ignoring calls, texts and every attempt she made to involve him in their child’s life. She wrote that for more than three years she dealt with this silence while raising the child alone.
The posts also narrate how the boy has shown signs of lacking a father figure, seeking attention from men around their estate, including boda boda riders and neighbors.
Oginga describes this as one of the most painful things to witness as a mother.
Screenshots also show heated conversations about money. In one case, she says Matsekhe sent her KSh 20,000, but she returned it because of what she described as degrading treatment.
She wrote, “I was fed up by now. Whatever I wanted for my son (knowing his dad) was clearly impossible.” According to her, she has been paying rent, buying clothes, covering food, healthcare, and paying a nanny entirely on her own. She says she only asked Matsekhe to assist with school fees since she already handles almost everything else and works hard to give the child a comfortable life.
The screenshots include receipts and messages showing money sent and refunded between them, including transactions of KSh 20,000 and KSh 24,000. A major confrontation happened when she told him about a KSh 34,000 school trip to Chaka Ranch and also requested KSh 25,000 for a Lenovo Tab M11 which the child needed for school. She explained the specifications clearly 4GB RAM and 28GB storage but the conversation quickly turned into accusations, with Matsekhe suggesting she was trying to take advantage of him. He even proposed that her brother should collect and deliver the device if she did not want him involved.
The messages show the discussion becoming tense almost immediately.
Oginga also posted fee breakdowns showing she had already paid KSh 66,000 out of a total of KSh 106,000, leaving KSh 40,000 and additional transport money remaining. Other messages show her frustration growing as she tried to explain the financial burden she was carrying alone. The tone between the two worsened, with her threatening to formalize his absence legally and insisting that she would not allow disrespect any longer. In one of her strongest statements, she warned that she had tolerated enough and was about to take action.
She wrote, “Wewe ni bahati tu ulikuwa nayo I didn’t take you to court or child’s welfare or US Embassy. But am going to something now ndio hii madharau iishe.”
Matsekhe, on his part, appeared to defend his limited involvement by referring to the huge investment he made in building the Busia hospital. But Oginga insists that if he can invest in such an expensive facility, the least he can do is support his own child instead of leaving everything to her.
To her, what she is asking for is “the bare minimum.”
The scandal has damaged Matsekhe’s image in Western Kenya, especially because St. Elizabeth Specialist Hospital has been marketed as a community-focused medical institution.
With Oginga’s posts attracting hundreds of reactions and widespread discussion, many people are now questioning his personal integrity and moral responsibility.
Despite the growing public pressure, neither Matsekhe nor his hospital has issued any formal response regarding the accusations.
