Nakuru War Memorial Hospital seeks police help to reopen after 6 months
The entrance to the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital in Nakuru City.
The management of Nakuru War Memorial Hospital is again seeking police assistance to gain access to the facility, which has been closed for almost six months.
The hospital's lawyer Kamau Chomba told the Nation on Tuesday, July 30, that they have now enlisted the help of the County Police Commander, Samuel Ndanyi, to gain access to the hospital.
Mr Ndanyi, Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika and County Secretary Samuel Mwaura were previously sued for contempt of court after failing to facilitate the return of management and staff to the hospital.
The hospital's latest move follows a ruling by the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru, which quashed a decision by the Nakuru Lands Registrar to cancel a lease extension granted to the hospital's directors.
In the ruling dated July 18, Justice Yuvinalis Angima annulled the May 19, 2023, decision of the Lands Registrar to cancel the certificate of lease issued to Nakuru War Memorial Hospital Limited.
Attempts by the county government to overturn the decision through an application were unsuccessful as the court declined to hear the case. The hospital’s lawyer Kamau Chomba said the ruling by Justice Angima declared the hospital the legal owner of the land, allowing it to occupy the property.
Six months
“We are now trying to engage Mr Ndanyi to provide us with security against the goons currently stationed at the hospital,” said Mr Chomba.
Following the ruling, the hospital management and staff attempted to reoccupy the facility last Friday (July 26) only to be blocked by individuals suspected to be acting under the county’s instruction. When the health workers arrived after six months of being away, they found the main gate locked.
The medics, who were ready to start work, were dispersed by a group of over 70 youths armed with tree branches, who chased them and assaulted some of them, forcing them to flee for safety.
Patricia Musale, the hospital's chief executive officer, said the youths' actions had dashed the medics' hopes of getting back to work.
She explained that the facility had been closed for the past six months due to a dispute between the county government and the hospital.
“We were hopeful after the court ordered the county commander to open the hospital. We came here very early in the morning, ready to start work as soon as the hospital was opened by the county commander. It has been tough as most of my staff had to find other means of survival. We just hope to get back to work soon,” she said.
She was optimistic that their lawyers would be able to speed up the paperwork so that they could legally access their facility.
Court order
Henry Aminga, one of the hospital's lawyers, said they had been served with a court order while pursuing contempt proceedings against Governor Susan Kihika.
He explained that the court cannot hear the contempt case until the hospital is opened as per previous court orders.
"The contempt hearing is scheduled for November. We have not been able to extract the court order because the file used by the judge is not back at the Nyandarua station as the judge gave the ruling virtually. We are waiting for the file so that we can extract the court order and serve the commander. Nevertheless, they are aware of the situation as they were in court and thugs have been hired to keep watch," he said.
