William Ruto's hand in The Nairobi Hospital's hostile takeover

President William Ruto is at the centre of a storm over control of the 70-year-old Nairobi Hospital after senior doctors revealed they had requested his intervention to rescue the institution from collapse.

But opposition leaders allege that the President is orchestrating a backdoor takeover of the private facility.

Six senior consultants with over two decades of service at the hospital have now revealed that they turned to Ruto in his capacity as patron of the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA) after multiple appeals to government agencies failed to resolve what they describe as the “methodical dismantling” of a national institution.

“The Nairobi Hospital is not an ordinary private entity. It sits on 21.8 acres of public land, granted by the government under a trust for the exclusive purpose of providing healthcare to the people of Kenya,” the doctors stated, revealing financial losses including Sh 9.1 billion in vanished cash reserves, Sh3 billion in documented deficits, and suppliers owed over Sh4 billion. 

But the doctors’ appeal for presidential help has opened a political storm with Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi alleging that Ruto is using the crisis to install loyalists on the hospital’s board through intimidation and threats.

“Over the past year, President William Ruto, through his Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, continued to sustain intimidation, blackmail and threats to the board of management,” Muturi said.

He claimed that on March 7, 2026, the board chairman received a threatening call from two officials in the Office of the Head of Public Service ordering the removal of three directors to make way for individuals aligned with the President.

“Failure to comply, they said, would lead to arrests and charges of money laundering. This is nothing short of coordinated blackmail,” Muturi said, further alleging that one Dr Sylvester Okumu Kasuku, a presidential adviser, and a Mr Moses Agoi Ondaba,  were recently co-opted to the board after their names were submitted from Harambee House. 

The doctors who sought Ruto’s help said they had evidence of wrongdoing, including documents “hidden in secret compartments in the company secretary’s office” and others “rescued from the hospital’s incinerator during an attempt by the board of directors to destroy evidence”.

The team that reached out to Ruto include doctors Stephen Muhudhia, Martin Wanyoike, Joel Toroitich, David Silverstein, Florence Murila and legal advisor Christine Muthoga.

“In November 2025, as governance challenges persisted, we sought the intervention of the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale. We outlined the continued mismanagement of the Hospital, the challenges we experienced with the insurance boycott that crippled the hospital, and the Board’s failure to provide leadership,” the doctors said in a statement on Monday.

“Unfortunately, all these interventions failed to resolve the governance crisis. Finally, in March 2026, we sought an audience with the President, our patron, to appeal for his intervention to save this 70-year-old national institution, which was on the brink of collapse.”

They accused the board of manipulating the members’ register by loading over 300 individuals who were transported by bus to vote at an AGM, with their membership paid through a single Sh5 million lump sum.

The hospital’s troubles stretch back to November 2019, when owners sacked the entire board following an Ernst & Young audit that revealed procurement irregularities, conflicts of interest, and cost overruns of Sh1.7 billion across six major projects.

The crisis deepened in March 2025 when a multi-agency team comprising the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), and Assets Recovery Agency (ASA) raided the hospital, freezing bank accounts of nine directors and recovering documents allegedly in the process of being destroyed. 

While the doctors insist they are not seeking government takeover, Muturi’s allegations paint a different picture of a State House determined to capture the institution by any means necessary.

“The directors remain firm. They will not succumb to intimidation or threats. Power is transient and should be used for the greater good of this country, not to suppress minorities or violate private entities,” Muturi said, revealing that some directors have obtained anticipatory bail after being summoned by investigators.  

The  Nairobi Hospital was built 11 years before Kenya gained independence.

On October 20, 1952, Sir Evelyn Baring, the Governor of the Kenya Colony, laid the foundation stone. Two years later, in 1954, the doors opened to the European Hospital, a facility built exclusively for white settlers. 

It would take seven more years before the hospital opened its gates to non-European patients. On October 19, 1961, the name was formally changed to The Nairobi Hospital and the hospital could be accessed by Africans. 

Today, the institution sits on approximately 20 acres of prime real estate in Upper Hill, with assets valued at nearly Sh12 billion. Monthly earnings are estimated at between Sh1.5 billion and Sh1.6 billion. 

The hospital is owned by the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), a membership-based non-profit registered as a company limited by guarantee. With over 3,000 members who elect the board, the facility has remained stable for decades.  

The first major public upheaval came in November 2019 when owners sacked the entire board of management after an exceptionally stormy AGM. 

Six members were sent packing following an audit of the Sh5.7 billion hospital expansion project launched in 2016. Four others had resigned in advance.

The audit by Ernst & Young revealed procurement irregularities and conflicts of interest, questioning how firms associated with some board members bid and won multi-million-shilling contracts. 

The audit flagged six of 11 major projects initiated between March 2013 and October 2016 that had cost overruns amounting to Sh1.7 billion. The Anderson Centre, whose contract value was Sh530 million, was revised to Sh884.9 million, a more than 50 per cent overrun that shareholders said lacked proper justification. 

A new board was elected, comprising Dr Wilfred Ndirangu as chairman and Dr Chris Bichage as vice chairman. But the calm would not last.

By April 2024, the wrangles had resurfaced. Doctors were demanding leadership changes, and disputes over procurement and tenders were simmering beneath the surface.

In September 2024, members of the Kenya Hospital Association disclosed that doctors were frustrated and wanted the institution back on its feet under new management. They called for an overhaul of the board, citing corruption and underhanded dealings.

The following month, some members accused the board of trying to borrow Sh4.2 billion despite the hospital being financially sound. The board defended the move, saying the money would fund equipment purchases, maintenance, software, and infrastructure improvements.

On December 6, 2024, CEO James Nyamogo’s contract expired and was not renewed. Felix Osano, formerly the director of supply chain, was appointed acting CEO.

On March 10, the board resolved to replace chairman Chris Bichage with Dr Barcley Onyambu, a consultant gynaecologist and elder of the SDA Church in Karen. Bichage retained his board seat but filed two cases challenging his removal as chairman. He lost both.

Just days later, on March 13, members of the Admitting Staff Association held a special general meeting and elected Agnes Gachoki and Timothy Byakika as interim chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively. Their appointment was to last 60 days.

But when Dr Gachoki sought to attend a board meeting on March 18, security officers roughed her up at the boardroom entrance. She reported the matter to Kilimani Police Station. On March 21, a multi-agency team comprising the DCI, KRA, and Assets Recovery Agency raided the hospital. They obtained court orders freezing bank and M-Pesa accounts of nine directors. The team demanded documents dating back to 2015.

Nairobi Hospital fought back. On March 24, High Court judge John Chigiti issued orders freezing the investigation, with acting CEO Felix Osano claiming the probe had been “illegally procured” by individuals fighting the board in other court matters. The Attorney-General’s office hit back, alleging that hospital staff had been caught red-handed trying to destroy documents on the day of the raid.

“The detectives are investigating abuse of office, fraud, forgery, money laundering and membership and financial malpractices,” State Counsel Kariuki Ragui told the court, adding that the offences dated back to 2015.

Two directors had already resigned.