Drama hit fever pitch at Milimani Law Courts today when 83-year-old Dr Job Obwaka, Board Chair of The Nairobi Hospital, collapsed inside a DCI vehicle while awaiting arraignment. An ambulance raced in as the decorated obstetrician — detained over the weekend — suffered sudden health complications, forcing emergency treatment right outside the courtroom.
Obwaka, Vice-Chair Samson Kinyanjui, ex-Chair Dr Chris Bichage and director Valery Gaya were later charged with failing to file 2024 financial statements tied to a reported Sh4.8 million loss. All four walked free on Sh5 million personal bond plus sureties, with mention set for March 31.
The weekend arrests have detonated Kenya’s fiercest private healthcare crisis yet. Police swooped in Friday and Saturday, accusing the officials of falsifying the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA) members’ register — allegedly to rig board elections and seize control of the Sh11 billion powerhouse.
Central to the storm: the contentious appointment of Felix Osano as CEO. Critics slam it as blatantly irregular — advertised but never competitively shortlisted, interviewed or vetted per the hospital’s HR manual. Insiders allege rushed hikes of up to 61% in patient fees, an overpriced KSh1 billion ICT tender, and senior staff sackings without due process.
Court of Appeal orders have already frozen leadership wrangles and flagged contempt risks against Osano and former Chair Barcley Onyambu.
Whispers of high-level interference are deafening. Sources claim President William Ruto’s name surfaced in Harambee House and State House meetings, pressuring board changes and co-opting figures like Dr Sylvester Okumu Kasuku and Moses Agoi Ondaba. Former AG Justin Muturi and ex-Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua have blasted it as a blatant state capture bid targeting the iconic 1954-founded facility.
Board members reportedly live under threat of money-laundering probes and arrests if they resist.
KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah condemned the detentions as “persecution” of senior medics, vowing industrial action unless protections are guaranteed. The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya and lawyers like Nelson Havi and Cliff Ombeta echoed outrage over due process violations and abuse of power.
Social media erupted with #FreeDrObwaka sympathy, videos of the elderly doctor’s ordeal drawing heartbreak: “An 83-year-old legend who delivered generations deserves respect — not handcuffs and collapse.”
The Nairobi Hospital — East Africa’s referral giant treating presidents and ordinary Kenyans alike — now teeters amid governance rot, membership fraud claims, frozen AGMs and court battles.
With unions mobilizing, fresh hearings looming and public trust eroding fast, one question burns: Can Kenya’s flagship private healthcare icon survive this brutal cocktail of internal power grabs, alleged state meddling and a very public courtroom health crisis?
The hospital has stayed silent so far. Stakeholders demand full probes into the shady CEO appointment, register tampering and external pressures — before patient care pays the ultimate price.
