Court stops Nairobi Hospital owners’ bid to eject board members
The main entrance at The Nairobi Hospital.
The Nairobi Hospital board chairman, Dr Chris Bichage, has secured a court order stopping a section of owners of the health facility from circulating a notice calling for removal of the board of management from office.
The order issued by the Milimani Commercial Chief Magistrate Court offers relief to the board, which has come under sharp criticism from a section of the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), the membership body that owns Nairobi Hospital.
The court order stops “the defendants/respondents, their agents, servants, employees and/or anyone acting on their behalf from circulating or disseminating (the notice), annexing, further publishing on any media, including social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other social media pages.”
The KHA members were also stopped from “relying on the same (notice) before any public forums or meetings, whether of the members of Kenya Hospital Association at an extra ordinary meeting, Special General meeting or Annual General Meeting whether conducted virtually, physically or through public platforms.”
Dr Bichage sued 363 members of KHA for defamation following allegations made in the notice calling for the removal of 13 directors from the board, citing a loss of confidence in their leadership.
The notice served on August 2, 2024, sparked controversy within the organisation.
“Leave is granted to the plaintiff to effect service of the application and pleadings through substituted service in the newspaper with nationwide coverage and circulation and electronic mail in light of the large number of respondents for inter-parties hearing next month. Take notice that any disobedience of the order of the court served herewith will result in penal consequences to you and any other person(s) disobeying and not observing the same,” directs the order.
