Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital board chair Olive Mugenda was put on the spot for allegedly allowing an ‘unqualified’ person to run the facility.
Members of the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education censured Mugenda for breaking the law as the CEO of the hospital, Ahmed Dagane, is not trained as a doctor.
Mugenda told the committee that Dagane is a holder of a degree in nursing and has a master’s degree in Business Administration.
“The CEO is not a doctor but he is a health professional,” Mugenda told the committee led by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami.
Wanami said Mugenda had broken the law by allowing Dagane to run the facility.
“The CEO is not a doctor but a nurse. What does the law say about the qualifications of CEOs of public facilities such as Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital?” Wanami posed.
Attorney General Justin Muturi, who was also before the committee, told members the requirement is that the CEO should be a medical doctor.
Dagane was appointed the CEO of Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital in July 2022.
The Sh8 billion facility became a state corporation under the Health Ministry after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed an order to that effect on January 22, 2019.
The facility is run by a CEO and a board of management made up of a non-executive chairperson appointed by the President.
KUTRRH is the third Health ministry parastatal after Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching Referral Hospital in Eldoret.