State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed has defended the involvement of President William Ruto in the ongoing governance dispute at the Kenya Hospital Association, which owns and manages The Nairobi Hospital.
He said the President’s role stems from both his position as patron of the association and as Head of State.
Hussein said the President received numerous memoranda and representations from stakeholders over several months.
These included doctors affiliated with Nairobi Hospital, members of the association and patients currently receiving care at the facility.
According to the spokesperson, the stakeholders appealed for intervention to address governance, financial and operational challenges affecting the hospital.
“These appeals raised serious concerns about the potential impact of longstanding governance and financial challenges on patient care, clinical governance and operational stability,” Mohamed said.
In a statement on Monday, he said the issues raised included disputes over membership, board elections and annual general meetings.
There were also allegations of conflicts of interest, mismanagement, leadership wrangles and mounting litigation.
Hussein explained that the President’s engagement was informed by the association’s Articles of Association.
The provisions allow for the position of a patron, a role President Ruto accepted in 2023 after being nominated by the association.
“It is therefore in both his capacity as patron and as President of Kenya that he was briefed and appealed to by concerned stakeholders,” he said.
The State House spokesperson said several institutional processes had already been initiated to address the governance challenges.
He revealed that Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service Felix Koskei convened at least 14 consultative meetings over the past year.
The meetings brought together board members, doctors and other stakeholders to facilitate dialogue and resolve the disputes.
The engagements led to the reconstitution of the hospital’s Board of Management through a process agreed upon by stakeholders.
Various parties nominated representatives to accommodate different interests within the association.
Stakeholders also agreed on a five-point reform agenda ahead of the association’s annual general meeting scheduled for December 2025.
The agenda included verification and clean-up of the membership register and withdrawal of proxy litigation suits.
It also proposed reviewing governance instruments, appointing an independent firm to conduct a forensic audit and preparing for a credible annual general meeting.
Hussein said the Office of the Attorney General later invoked Section 800 of the Companies Act 2015.
This allowed the appointment of inspectors to investigate the affairs of the Kenya Hospital Association following petitions from members and doctors.
A multi-agency team conducted the probe and submitted its report to the Attorney General on March 6, 2026.
The team included the Business Registration Service, Asset Recovery Agency, Kenya Revenue Authority and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Others were the National Intelligence Service and the Financial Reporting Centre.
The spokesperson also said President Ruto recently met senior doctors from Nairobi Hospital and patients receiving long-term care at the facility.
They briefed him on the challenges facing the institution and the need to restore stability.
During the engagements, the President directed the timely conclusion and implementation of the investigation report.
Hussein said this was aimed at safeguarding the interests of patients, medical professionals and employees.
He added that Nairobi Hospital remains a key pillar of Kenya’s healthcare system.
The hospital serves more than 290,000 patients annually, operates six satellite centres and supports over 700 specialist doctors.
“The government will continue to support all necessary steps within the law to restore stability and strengthen governance,” Mohamed said.
