Five arrested as battle rages over Nakuru War Memorial Hospital
The entrance to the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital in Nakuru City.
The controversy over ownership of the War Memorial Hospital in Nakuru has taken a new turn after five people were arrested in connection with forgery of land ownership documents.
The five, two of whom are directors of the War Memorial Hospital, were arrested on Friday evening by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Nakuru.
Two of those arrested are said to be officials from the Ministry of Lands, while one is a broker.
Rift Valley Regional DCI officer Charles Kanyuira, who confirmed the arrests, declined to give further information, promising only to hold a media briefing later.
Four of the suspects were arrested in Naivasha and taken to the regional DCI offices in Nakuru for questioning. One person is yet to report to the DCI offices.
Police sources who spoke to the Nation said the four were being questioned over their involvement in the alleged fraudulent acquisition of land documents to extend the lease of the War Memorial Hospital land in Nakuru.
The 2021 lease extension, which allows the hospital to occupy the land for the next 50 years, has been the subject of dispute between the county government and the hospital management.
While the hospital claims to have followed due process in acquiring the lease extension at the end of its original lease, the county government rejected it as a forgery.
In May, it successfully petitioned the county land registrar to cancel it.
As a result, in October last year, the county announced its decision to take over the management of the hospital, arguing that the property had reverted to the government.
However, the move prompted the hospital's management to go to court and obtain an order suspending the decision.
Justice Millicent Odeny in her October 30 ruling restrained the county from interfering with the running of the War Memorial Hospital pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Reacting to the arrests, County Secretary Samuel Mwaura said Nakuru had lodged a complaint with the DCI over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of leases by the hospital directors.
He said the arrests were a positive development by the police who have been investigating the matter.
Renew its lease
"We still maintain that the land belongs to the government and that there were illegalities that were done to acquire the extension. It is good that the detectives have made progress and we believe that the rule of law will take its cause," said Mwaura.
He added that the county had earlier rejected the hospital's application to renew its lease, only to discover later that the hospital had obtained the documents through other means.
Nakuru Town West MP Samuel Arama commended the police for moving swiftly to arrest the directors.
He called for public property to be protected from grabbing.
"We support the county government's efforts to repossess public land and I want to thank the police for their efforts. Let them be taken to court to clear their names," said Arama.
On Saturday, youths took to the streets to show their support for the ongoing repossession of public property.
Said Juma, the youth chairman, commended the police and the county administration for their efforts in investigating the matter.
He expressed his support to the administration and urged Governor Susan Kihika and the county leadership to continue with the recovery of grabbed property.
“We are here to show support to our governor for the good work she is doing in protecting public property. We are fully behind her in the fight against the grabbing menace,” said Juma.
The youths vowed to play an active role in the fight and urged the grabbers to surrender.
