Eyes on top political forces as hospital ownership war rages

The Nakuru War Memorial Hospital saga has continued to deepen even as more questions remain unanswered with powerful people in government said to be involved.

For more than three days now, the facility is still under the control of hired goons despite their entry being reported to the police who are yet to act.

Samuel Ndanyi, the Nakuru County Police Commander on Thursday last week appeared in court and later enforced the exit of the county government which had been forcibly taken over.

County askaris who had been guarding the facility left and were later followed by the police officers leaving the hospital in the hands of its former private management.

Private guards
The exit of both county enforcement officers and the police left the hospital exposed in the hands of unarmed private guards.

In what appears to have been a well calculated move, hundreds of goons invaded the hospital minutes after the county commander left, pushing out the guards and medical staff.

“We reported at Kaptembwo Police Station vide OB number 56/01/02/2024. We were assured of police deployment but none showed up,” said the hospital chief executive Patricia Musale.

Musale had announced that the hospital would offer free dialysis to patients for a day after reopening but the invasion hampered even the slightest progress to resume its operations.

Days later, it has emerged that the goons who have taken over the hospital have the blessings from some politicians with vested interests on the disputed hospital and its assets.

“We were instructed to guard the facility to ensure nothing was stolen. We are not here for anything else,” one of the senior members of the organised gang as he instructed journalists to leave.

The People Daily has since established that though the goons mean well, the previous huge numbers paved the way for some of them to loot electronics, among them computers and other movable items.

Through our sources, we also established that the goons welded some of the gates leading into the hospital building to stop anyone from accessing it.

During the visit to the facility, we found one of the politician’s vehicles, a 14-seater matatu parked outside the hospital. The driver drove off after spotting our cameras.

“I still don’t understand why the police are yet to act. We were allowed to back to take over the hospital through a court order but unfortunately can’t access or run the hospital,” said Musale.

Consultations

The police inaction exposed the deep rooted and powerful forces behind the Sh1 billion hospital saga, begging the questions on who the powerful people are and their intentions.

Nakuru West sub-county Police Commander Francis Wahome says that this was a sensitive matter that would require ‘wider consultations’ despite it being reported as a crime.

“We received the report but couldn’t approach it in a rush. We have two sides and we have to listen to both first and agree on what to do as a sub-county security committee,” said Wahome.

Nakuru County Secretary Dr Samuel Mwaura, who has been leading the entry and control of the hospital prior to the court orders, had indicated that the county government had plans to build a bigger hospital on the land.

This was corroborated by Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria who says that the county should be allowed to undertake the project.

“The county government wants to construct a hospital similar to Kenyatta National Hospital there. This is for the public good,” said Gikaria.

Patients welfare

However, the private management of the hospital which is in court over the county’s invasion says that they have an extended lease allowing them to run the hospital for another 50 years.

The county government, however, disputed the lease, inviting the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate their authenticity.

This led to the arrest of two directors from the Ministry of Lands office in Nairobi, two hospital directors and a surveyor who were charged with forgery and uttering false documents.

Despite this, former Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri who had been appointed Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Lands ministry, has questioned the county government’s approach.

“This is a matter that is in court but it is shocking how the county government is using impunity to retain control of the hospital much to the detriment of patients. The interest of the public is being served there, regardless of by whom, but the county is focusing on shutting it down,” said Ngunjiri.

Nakuru Senator Tabitha Keroche Karanja has however, opened what appears to be the lead on what is ailing the hospital which sits on a 25-acre prime piece of land next to the Nakuru State House.

“We are calling on the President and the National Lands Commission (NLC) to intervene. The prime land is the target of people who want to grab it. Why is the silence from the government so loud in this saga?” posed Senator Keroche.

Former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui has weighed in saying that this had exposed how the current regime disregards court orders.

“Is this the country which the voters envisioned when they went to the last election? If the President cares about the people of Nakuru, he must speak on the War Memorial issue now,” said Kinyanjui.