After more than five months of absence from office, Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has resumed duties, chairing her first cabinet meeting this year on Tuesday.
Governor Kihika had travelled to the United States of America late last year for maternity leave, which ended mid this month.
Her conspicuous absence in the county for nearly five months sparked uproar and debate as a section of residents and governance lobby groups questioned her extended leave from office.
Since November 18, 2024, Governor Kihika has remained away from the public limelight, only occasionally making social media posts highlighting ongoing and completed projects in Nakuru.
However, on Tuesday, Governor Kihika chaired a cabinet meeting, the first official engagement since returning to the country after maternity leave.
According to the county boss, the meeting focused on accelerating development projects and enhancing service delivery across the county.
“I chaired a cabinet meeting to give fresh impetus and direction to service delivery and completion of development projects in the county. During the meeting, we approved a development-oriented budget for the financial year 2025/2026 and agreed on the collective effort to fast-track completion of development projects under construction,” she stated in a statement after the meeting.
"We are committed, through budgetary allocations and prudent planning, to improving delivery of government services and completing development projects for the benefit of Nakuru residents,” she added.
Ms Kihika who gave birth to twins last week hosted several politicians and friends at her Ngata home, days after returning from the US.
She resumes duties amid sustained criticism over what a section of residents say is a breakdown of the Nakuru health care system while she was away in the US for her maternity leave.
Her Kihika's administration has been criticised over what residents and health professionals say is poor management of the health sector, particularly at Nakuru Level Five Hospital, the largest facility in the region.
“Now that Governor Kihika is back, she should urgently intervene to restore sanity in the health sector, particularly at Nakuru Level Five Hospital, where two expectant mothers have died due to what their families term as negligence by the hospital management,” said Jesse Karanja, chairman of the People's Power Watch group.
He went on: “How she handles the situation at Nakuru Level Five Hospital and other facilities will greatly determine how residents vote for the gubernatorial seat in 2027,” he added.
Governor Kihika's return coincides with investigations into the mysterious disappearance of the body of a seven-month-old baby from the Nakuru Level Five Hospital mortuary and the deaths of Elizabeth Wairimu and Phylis Juma, two expectant mothers who lost their lives just hours after being admitted to the hospital to give birth, in incidents their families attribute to medical negligence.
An autopsy conducted on her remains by government pathologist Dr Titus Ngulungu and family pathologist Dr Isak Abdi revealed that she died due to respiratory distress as a result of lack of oxygen.
“After examining her body, I have formed the opinion that she died due to lack of oxygen,” stated the postmortem report.
The family claimed that medics at the hospital took too long to attend to Wairimu and place her in the Intensive Care Unit, leading to her death. The happenings at the facility have also forced health authorities to admit that its workforce is strained.
Elizabeth Wairimu, 27, died at the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital after developing complications hours after undergoing a C-section.
Photo credit: Courtesy
“The Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Maternity Wing is overwhelmed. Considering the number of deliveries happening here compared to the number of nurses we have, it is severely suboptimal,” said Health Exectuive Roslyn Mungai.
The Nation established that due to the ever rising number of patients, the facility, which also hosts the ultra-modern Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Maternity Wing and a cancer center, is grappling with an acute shortage of nurses, doctors, and other medics, as well as essential equipment.
According to the South Rift Secretary of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Dr Stephen Omondi, the hospital is short of at least 23 medical officers.
“In the pediatric ward, which ideally should have 12 medical officers, the Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Maternity Unit is left with only six. Generally, the hospital needs at least 300 additional nurses. The strained workforce has contributed to the rising complaints of negligence from patients,” revealed Dr Omondi.
The hospital has six ICU beds, with only four equipped with ventilators.
Recent accounts from patients seeking healthcare at the facility also reveal harrowing experiences due to its deteriorating conditions.
A few weeks ago, the hospital was on the spot after a disturbing video clip of patients sleeping in the cold resurfaced.
The undated clip, which went viral on social media, captured patients — including visibly elderly women — sleeping outside in one of the fields within the hospital compound at night, covering themselves with lessos and clothes.
In yet another incident two months ago, the hospital gripped national attention after the body of a seven-month-old baby mysteriously disappeared from its mortuary.
Although the Nakuru County Secretary and Head of Public Service Samuel Mwaura revealed that five mortuary attendants had been suspended as part of an internal disciplinary process, the matter is yet to be resolved.
The body of the deceased, Mercy Chepng'eno, is yet to be found.
It went missing on February 6, hours after her parents Daniel Kipchirchir and Ms Sharon Saidi, a deaf couple, were informed that she had passed on.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has completed its investigations and forwarded the case file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for further action.
The disappearance of the body has raised serious questions over security at the facility the largest in the South Rift region. Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja Keroche, a vocal critic of the Governor, has petitioned the Senate seeking a comprehensive audit of the hospital after a surge in maternal and infant deaths.
“The deaths in the hospital could have been avoided. It is painful that the two ladies, Wairimu and Phylis, sought medical care for the same reason that the Governor sought treatment in the US. One mother returned with healthy twin babies, while another never came home, and we cannot afford to continue like this," she said in a statement. Also awaiting Governor Kihika are several stalled and flagship projects, which were derailed by a budget deficit of Sh750 million occasioned by the withdrawal of the National Government Finance Bill in June last year.
County Secretary Samuel Mwaura has in the past attributed the budget shortfall to the delayed projects. Governor Kihika is also expected to give direction on the implementation of various development projects.
A section of residents felt that her absence derailed the proper implementation of projects and key decision-making at the county level. She will also face a petition filed in court by an activist seeking her removal from office.
