This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
On October 8, 2019, Nairobi Hospital's shareholders sought an extraordinary meeting to discuss the ouster of the institution's directors, escalating wrangles at the premier health facility.
More than 230 members of the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA) — which owns the hospital — have drafted a petition seeking the removal of eight directors through the meeting.
The push for the shareholder meeting, the second in less than six months, is set to face opposition from the directors, further deepening wrangles that started with the suspension and later sacking of the hospital's chief executive, Gordon Odundo.
The directors had opposed a similar meeting that was held on May 15, arguing that the petition summoning the meeting breached rules because it failed to disclose a specific agenda and was signed by some members who had not paid their subscriptions.
The meeting will seek the removal of the directors, including Mr Simba and his deputy, Coutts Otolo — a former Mumias Sugar Company chief executive.
Some of the shareholders accuse the directors of poor oversight of infrastructure projects at the hospital, whose costs the petitioners say were inflated.
They also claim that the hiring of top executives was irregular and that the board had also failed to file tax returns for eight years, exposing the hospital to KRA penalties.
The board has also been faulted for delayed payments to doctors, suppressing a forensic audit that revealed suspect procurement and the failure to call for fresh directors' election at the June Annual General Meeting (AGM).
