Nairobi Hospital saga deepens after Court of Appeal decision

A section of the Nairobi Hospital stakeholders has expressed disappointment over a Court of Appeal decision that granted relief in favour of the facility’s management.

This, the stakeholders argue, took place despite existing binding High Court orders barring them from presiding over any governance affairs.

In a statement on Thursday, they say the appellate intervention has not only undermined the authority of subsisting court orders but has also accelerated the governance woes at one of Kenya’s most critical healthcare facilities.

At the heart of the controversy is the Court of Appeal’s decision to allow the management to act upon a Notice of Appeal that stakeholders insist was jurisdictionally defective.

The decision, they argue, has effectively shielded hospital executives accused of contempt of court and emboldened continued violations of judicial directives.

“Even more gravely, the matters pending before the High Court at the time included contempt of court proceedings, in respect of which the Court had already heard the parties and reserved a date for delivery of its ruling,” the statement alleged. 

The Nairobi Hospital has been embroiled in protracted governance disputes, boardroom wrangles, and litigation following contested leadership decisions and allegations of financial mismanagement.

These disputes have since spiralled into a full-blown institutional crisis marked by court battles and paralysed governance, threatening the facility’s stability. 

According to affected members of the Kenya Hospital Association, the Court of Appeal granted relief on the strength of a Notice of Appeal whose purported appointment arose from a board meeting convened on July 4, 2025 in Naivasha.

They argue that the meeting had been prohibited by a High Court order issued on July 3, 2025, which restrained the convening of any board or governance meetings.