Sifuna slams Ruto over Nairobi Hospital row, urges focus on public health
By Mustafa Juma, March 22, 2026Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has sharply criticised President William Ruto over his reported involvement in the leadership wrangles at The Nairobi Hospital.
Speaking on Sunday, March 22, 2026, during a church service at CCI Church in Narok, the embattled Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General urged the Head of State to prioritise the repair of struggling public health facilities.
Sifuna accused the president of neglecting critical challenges in government hospitals while focusing on a private institution.
Concerns over public hospitals
The outspoken senator cited challenges at major referral facilities, including Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, claiming that essential services have been disrupted.
He claimed that key equipment, including cancer treatment machines, had been nonoperational for months, raising concerns about patients’ access to critical care.
According to Sifuna, such issues highlight deeper systemic problems within the public healthcare sector that require urgent government attention.
“Wewe fikiria, rais wa nchi, ambaye ndiye anahitajika kuwa patron wa hospitali zetu za uma, yeye ndiye anafaa kuwa patron wa hospitali ya Kenyatta, na hospitali ya Moi kule Eldoret, kazi imemshinda. Ukienda hospitali ya Kenyatta, mashine ya kutibu cancer imekuwa chini miezi tatu sahii, lakini ameachana na hiyo ameenda kujiweka ati yeye ni patron wa hospitali ya kibinafsi inaitwa Nairobi hospital,” Sifuna said.
State interference
Sifuna further accused the government of using security agencies to influence leadership disputes at Nairobi Hospital, describing the move as unnecessary interference in a private institution.
He raised concerns that elderly individuals had been arrested in connection with the standoff, terming the actions heavy-handed.
“Anatumia polisi kunyakua hiyo hospitali kwa nguvu. Ametuma polisi kushika wazee, watu wako na miaka 80. Anawashika on Friday anawaeka ndani, ati ndio alazimishe hospitali ambayo ni private ikuwe yake,” he said.
The senator questioned why the government would prioritize private-sector disputes while lower-level public health facilities, including county hospitals, continue to struggle with inadequate resources and staffing.
“Sasa kama hizi zetu za level 4 hapa Narok zimemshinda, anaenda kujiingiza kwa mambo ya kibinafsi kwanini. You are the patron of public hospitals in this country, na zimekushinda, you cannot go and be a patron of a private facility,” Sifuna maintained.
Ongoing Nairobi Hospital dispute
The leadership disputes at Nairobi Hospital have recently drawn national attention, with reports that internal disputes are escalating and attracting scrutiny from political leaders.
President Ruto has, however, announced a decisive mandate to protect Nairobi Hospital, vowing to shield the premier medical facility from conmen and fraudsters.
Speaking during the inspection of Cheptais modern market in Mt Elgon on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, Ruto vowed to protect the hospital from fraudulent actors, following reports, he said, that senior doctors and professionals had approached him for intervention.
“Senior doctors, professionals from Nairobi Hospital approached me to save the hospital from conmen, fraudsters, and charlatans who wanted to expropriate Nairobi Hospital,” Ruto said.
Ruto said Nairobi Hospital is a premier medical institution for the entire region and that his administration would not allow it to be compromised by individuals seeking to take it over through fraudulent means.
“For avoidance of doubt, Nataka Niwaambie Wakenya, Nairobi Hospital is a premier medical institution in Kenya; in fact, it serves the region. There is no way I am going to allow Nairobi hospital to be taken over,” Ruto stated.