Allow hospital to carry on with its business now

Nakuru War Memorial Hospital. [File, Standard]

The two-year dispute over ownership of a prime chunk of land in Nakuru City, where War Memorial Hospital stands, has come to an end.

The dispute over the 27 acres, which was started by the Nakuru County Government in October 2023, left the hospital that had served millions of people since 1921 closed.

Eight court orders directing the hospital’s reopening were ignored by the county government. And while the court case was ongoing, the land was reportedly subdivided into parcels, with the county government accused of authorising the subdivision.

Whenever the hospital’s private management went to the facility, hired goons barred them from accessing it. Police officers curiously declined to take action against the goons and declined to comment about their activities. A perimeter wall was also constructed despite injunctions ordering that all activities at the hospital be halted.

Even after the Environment and Land Court in Nyandarua declared that the hospital’s private management owned the land, the police arrived at the hospital and barred the management from operating, claiming that they were acting on orders from above – leaving no doubt about which side they were on.

Now, with the court affirming the land belongs to the War Memorial Hospital, such shenanigans must come to an end. The county government must stop salivating over this land and allow the hospital to offer the much-needed services to Nakuru residents. 

Notably, during the course of the dispute, public hospitals in Nakuru have been overwhelmed, with patients even sharing beds. The court decision should herald better times for the city and the county. The county government should now allow the hospital to operate without interruption.

Its craving for this prime land should be replaced by a desire to support the operation of the hospital to give Nakuru residents confidence that the state of healthcare will improve in the coming months.