- The hospital has obtained three court orders from the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru, barring the county government and the land registrar from interfering with its operations and revoking its lease title.
The War Memorial Hospital, a private facility that has operated in Nakuru for over a century, has been embroiled in a land dispute with the Nakuru County government, which claims that the hospital's lease title was illegally obtained and expired in 2021.
The hospital, which stands on a 25-acre land it shares with the Nakuru Level Five Hospital Annex, has been fighting to retain its ownership and management, arguing that it renewed its lease for another 50 years in 2021.
The hospital has obtained three court orders from the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru, barring the county government and the land registrar from interfering with its operations and revoking its lease title.
However, the county government has defied the court orders and attempted to take over the hospital by force on several occasions, the latest being on Friday, January 26, 2024.
The county officials, accompanied by armed police officers, stormed the hospital and ordered the staff and patients to vacate the premises. They also locked the gates and hoisted the county flag at the entrance.
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The hospital's director, Simon Mwangi, said that the county's actions were illegal and in contempt of court and that they endangered the lives of the critical patients who were undergoing treatment at the hospital.
He said some patients were transferred to the Nakuru Level Five Hospital Annex, while others were discharged without proper care. He also said that the hospital's equipment and records were vandalized and confiscated by the county officials.
He said that the hospital filed an urgent application at the court on Monday, January 29, 2024, seeking to enforce the court orders and to stop the county's harassment.
On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, Justice Milicent Odeny issued the third court order, quashing the decision of the land registrar to cancel the hospital's lease title and restraining the county government and the local administration from dealing with or investigating the land.
She also ordered the county police boss, Samuel Ondanyi, to comply with the court orders and restore the hospital to its rightful owners and managers.
However, Ondanyi failed to enforce the court order and remove the county officials from the hospital, saying that he had not received the order and was waiting for instructions from his superiors.
This prompted the hospital's lawyers to file a contempt of court application against Ondanyi and the county officials, accusing them of disobeying the court and violating the hospital's and its client's rights.
The hospital's lawyers also said they would seek damages from the county government for the losses and injuries caused by its unlawful actions.
The case will be heard on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru.
