'We handed over the keys to them,' Governor Susan Kihika tells Senate on War memorial saga
Governor Susan Kihika.
Nakuru governor Susan Kihika has lamented what she termed as unfair treatment of the county government by the court in its case with the Nakuru war memorial hospital, over ownership and control of the hospital.
Ms Kihika who had appeared before the senate health committee claimed the court had been biased against the county government, by denying them audience and entertaining the contempt of court applications against her despite having no jurisdiction to do so.
According to Ms Kihika, the conduct of the courts in the trial of the Nakuru war memorial case is to blame for the confusion around the management and control of the facility.
“The conduct of the entirety of the trial process has been oppressive to the county government with threats of being held in contempt of court being thrown to them periodically, while the private management enjoy the privileges of the orders unlawfully,” said Ms Kihika.
The Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago led committee was told that the county was discharging its mandate of protecting the public property, following recommendation from the county assembly before the private management obtained orders against it.
Ms Kihika lamented that the orders were issued ex-parte (without them being heard) while their attempts to set them aside were frustrated.
“The county filed two applications one on November 2 and another on November seeking to set aside the orders which were granted on the basis of the forged certificate of lease, but is yet to be accorded the right to be heard,” stated Ms Kihika.
The Nakuru county boss denied having carried out a violent take-over arguing that the process was peaceful while adding that the county had deployed more nurses to take care of the patients.
According to Ms Kihika, the county government did not transfer nor discharge any patient from the Nakuru war memorial hospital, but it was rather the hospital management that released the recuperating patients and referred some to other hospitals.
She noted that other patients chose to be transferred following the tension that had ensued as a result of the dispute over the hospital’s ownership.
She insisted that the county complied with the court orders and handed over the keys to the hospital on February 24 under the supervision of the Nakuru county police commander Samuel Ndanyi.
“The county is not in possession of the Nakuru War memorial hospital and thus cannot give an account on the issues of its closure. We do not know what is happening there since we handed over the keys to them,” she said.
She dismissed any plans for the county to compensate the hospital for losses suffered as a result of the takeover, noting that it is the private management which ought to compensate the county.
Ms Kihika appeared before the committee in honour of the summons following a petition that had been filed by Nakuru senator Tabitha Karanja.
Also summoned were the hospital’s director Dr Simon Mwangi and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Musale.
The hospital management maintained that the take over which happened at night was a raid that disrupted the services.
Ms Musale told the committee that the county had deployed goons at the hospital after handing over the key noting that they have not been able to access the facility.
According to Dr Mwangi, the county was acting in malice to charge the directors for the crimes which according to the county were committed by the lawyer.