Senior Nairobi Hospital doctors sought Ruto’s intervention amid management crisis

A group of senior medical consultants at Nairobi Hospital address a press conference at a Nairobi hotel on March 16, 2026/HANDOUT

A group of senior medical consultants at Nairobi Hospital has revealed that they sought the intervention of President William Ruto amid escalating management wrangles at the country’s premier private health facility.

The consultants, all of whom have practiced at the hospital for more than two decades, said they met Ruto on February 27, 2026, to appeal for help in resolving governance and administrative challenges they believe threaten the institution’s stability.

The hospital is owned by the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), whose patron is the sitting President of Kenya.

According to the doctors, the meeting with the President followed earlier consultations with senior government officials, including Head of Public Service Felix Koskei in March 2025 and Health CS Aden Duale in November 2025.

The delegation comprised Dr David Silverstein, a consulting physician cardiologist; Dr Martin Wanyoike, also a consulting physician cardiologist; Dr Stephen Muhudhia, a consultant pediatrician; and Dr Florence Murila, a consulting paediatrician.

“We sought an audience with the President, our patron, to appeal for his intervention to save the 70-year-old national institution, which was on the brink of collapse,” the doctors said in a joint statement released over the weekend.

The consultants told the President that the hospital’s difficulties stem largely from governance and management failures rather than clinical issues. They proposed several reforms, including a comprehensive financial audit and a review of the hospital’s human resource systems.

“We informed the President that what ails the hospital is governance and management problems,” the statement read. “Among our requests were a financial audit, an audit of the human resource structure, and broader institutional reforms to restore transparency and accountability.”

Dr Muhudhia dismissed claims circulating in political circles that the President intends to take control of the hospital through government influence.

“The President is not trying to take over the hospital, and what people are saying is just playing politics,” Muhudhia said.

“The Nairobi Hospital must be saved, not for any individual, not for any political interest, but for the thousands of patients who depend on it and generations of Kenyans yet to come.”

The doctors said they also informed the President that meaningful audits and reforms would be difficult to implement while the current board of management remained in place.

Meanwhile, tensions around the hospital’s leadership escalated after the arrest of senior officials linked to the Kenya Hospital Association board.

Among those arrested was Dr Job Obwaka, an admitting consultant at the hospital and a KHA director. Also taken into custody were board vice chairperson Samson Kinyanjui and another director, Valery Gaya. All the suspects have since been released on a free bond of Sh5 million

Dr Silverstein said he knows Obwaka personally and expressed confidence that the truth would emerge.

“He is a good person. Maybe he was just with the wrong group,” Silverstein said. “I believe the truth will eventually set him free.”

The arrests triggered strong reactions from doctors’ unions. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) warned that medical staff could withdraw their services if the detained officials are not released.

KMPDU Secretary-General Davji Atellah demanded the immediate release of the officials, saying the union would not hesitate to call a strike.

Obwaka, 83, was reportedly arrested at his parking bay at the NSSF Building in Nairobi, where his private clinic is located.

The unfolding drama has also drawn political attention. Opposition leaders, including Justin Muturi and Kalonzo Musyoka, have criticized the arrests, accusing senior government officials of attempting to forcefully take control of the hospital.

“This is intimidation of medical professionals,” Muturi said, warning that the government should stay out of the hospital’s internal affairs.