Why it will take longer to reopen War Memorial hospital

War Memorial Hospital gate, July 20, 2024. [Daniel Chege, Standard]

The reopening of War Memorial Hospital in Nakuru County, closed over a land ownership dispute, may take longer.

On Tuesday, The Standard established that the orders issued by the Environment and Land Court judge Justice Yuvinalis Angima last week granting the ownership of the land to a private company are yet to be extracted.

The hospital, standing on a 25-acre land in the posh Milimani estate, was closed on January 23, 2024, by the Nakuru county government, following the dispute over the renewal of the land lease.

The Standard established that Justice Angima still had the case file to be used to extract the order for the reopening.

The judge who issued the orders on July 25 is out of the station. The file has a pending ruling on a contempt of court case facing Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika.

“We are yet to extract the orders. We were told to wait for the file to reach the court, but we have not seen the file,” said Moses Mbuthia, a court process server.

Mbuthia said he is supposed to serve the order upon Nakuru County Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi to implement the court orders.

“We do not know what to do now because we have not received the orders to date,” he said.

The Hospital CEO, Patricia Musale, said the staff camped outside the gate on Friday last week, hoping it would be reopened.

She said that goons attacked, assaulted staff and chased them away.

Musale said that on Monday, they hoped they would receive the orders for staff to resume work, but by Tuesday afternoon, the orders were yet to be extracted.

“We have told the staff to remain calm as we follow up on the orders,” she said.

On July 19, Justice Angima reinstated the lease title deed registered under the private ownership, quashing a gazette notice by the Nakuru Land Registrar, dated May 19, 2023, which cancelled the title.

The title lease, first issued in 1922 and renewed for 50 years, effective March 1, 2021, was cancelled following a complaint by the county government.

"The cancellation of the lease is declared illegal, null and void. The title deed issued to War Memorial Hospital under private ownership is reinstated," ruled Justice Angima.

On July 25, the Judge directed Ndanyi to supervise the repossession of the hospital. It is still abandoned, with the gate closed with rusted chains and padlock.

The orders of the court followed an application by the hospital directors, Dr Simon Mwangi, Roger Joslyn and Malcolm Bell, through their lawyers, Lawrence Karanja and Kamau Chomba.

The county shut down the hospital, locking out doctors and over 300 staff.

A contempt case against Kihika and Nakuru County Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi is pending.

Kihika is accused of disobeying six orders that directed her and her administration to stop interfering with the private running of the hospital.

Ndanyi is accused of refusing to provide security to the hospital management to regain entry and take over the management.

The case will be mentioned on September 27.