By Ben Agina

Well-connected individuals may have grabbed hospital land worth Sh300 million, just metres away from the State House, Nairobi.

The land, which had been allocated to a charity headed by American basketball icon Michael Jordan for a hospital was acquired and sub-divided by influential individuals.

The proposed Sh2.4 billion 250-bed hospital may never take off as Michael’s mother, Mrs Deloris Jordan, has now been advised to take up alternative site in Mukuru slums.

This is a surprising turn of events as State House and City Hall had endorsed the allocation for Jordan to put up an ultra-modern hospital in collaboration with Nairobi Women’s Hospital.

Documents in our possession indicate Jordan, who visited in August, met President Kibaki.

During the meeting, the President ordered relevant Government departments to speed up the process that would enable her — through the James R. Jordan Foundation — to access the five-acre piece of land and its title so that construction could start.

But things did not move as fast as was anticipated. It was alleged that a city-registered company had acquired and sold the land for a song.

State House Avenue is one of Nairobi’s most plum and prime locations.

The land in question was initially allocated to Lady Northey Home Registered Trustees for 61 years, from 1958, for a children’s home and orphanage.

The land was later transferred to the City Council of Nairobi on July 29, 1965. On November 17, 1994, the City Council excised a portion, Land Registered No. 209/5391 measuring 0.532 hectares, and transferred it to the Africa Inland Church.

In May 2001, a private company (name withheld) presented a transfer for the portion in favour of yet another company, but the Town Clerk stopped the transfer, which has been in force ever since.

A site inspection by Lands officials on August 19 showed a portion of land is being developed. It is not clear who sanctioned the developments and whether the developers have documents to prove ownership of the site.

Sources familiar with the matter said two days after the President gave the directive, on August 22, the Nairobi Women’s Hospital Chief Executive Sam Nthenya, who partnered with the Jordan Foundation, was summoned to a meeting at Harambee House, allegedly chaired by the Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura.

Last evening, Dr Nthenya confirmed attending the meeting.

"I was told that the land we are looking for was not available. There was no discussion. We were just informed to try and get land elsewhere," Nthenya told The Standard on the telephone.

We could not reach Mr Muthaura’s office.

Interestingly, former Vice-President Moody Awori, Local Government Minister Musikari Kombo, as well as Justice Minister Ms Martha Karua and US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, attended the groundbreaking ceremony to commission the project.

Nthenya said they were advised by their local consultants to halt the project until they secured the title deed.

"The City Council, too, did not have the title. At this point, we did not know what to do. We could not start the project without the title," he said.

Nthenya added that they were still waiting for communication from the City Council.

Town Clerk John Gakuo could not be reached last night as his cell-phone was switched off. His office line went unanswered.

However, City Council Director of Health Daniel Nguku, who sat in the meetings that discussed the project, said yesterday the manner the land was to be transferred to the Jordan Foundation might not have been procedural.

Dr Nguku, however, said he was not competent enough to talk to the Press about the land and referred us to the Directorate of City Planning.

"I was on the committee that deliberated the land issue … but I am not sure whether the President instructed the council to hand over that particular land at Lady Northey. I thought the President only talked of a suitable land," said Nguku on telephone.

However, Nguku said the issue of handing the land to Jordan Foundation was discussed by the General Purposes Committee chaired by then Mayor Dick Wathika (now Assistant Minister), instead of the Public Health Committee.

The move by Muthaura was seen to be against the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Nairobi Womens’ Hospital, Jordan Foundation and the City Council.

The Lady Northey building was to be preserved as a national heritage site and incorporated into the design of the overall hospital and Wellness Village.

There are fears now that the project may not take off since a clause in the MoU signed in 2006, says the project would be implemented within two years from the date of signing, failing which the agreement would automatically lapse.

The US Embassy in Nairobi, which backs the project, follows the saga closely. Early this month, Ranneberger met Prime Minister Raila Odinga over the issue.

The land dispute point to well-connected individuals, one in the current Cabinet, who may have acquired the land in 2001, and has since sold it to equally prominent individuals.

 

 

 

 

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