Who owns Nairobi Hospital? Inside struggle to control Sh11 billion a year cash cow

For decades, The Nairobi Hospital has been one of Kenya’s most prestigious private medical institutions, treating presidents, diplomats and business leaders while serving as a referral centre for complex medical procedures. 

Yet behind its reputation for elite healthcare lies a unique ownership model and a long history of governance disputes that have repeatedly drawn the hospital into court battles and public scrutiny.

The hospital was founded in 1954, originally known as the Nairobi European Hospital, during the colonial period when healthcare facilities were racially segregated. 

It was established to serve the European settler population but opened to all races in 1961, eventually becoming one of the country’s leading private referral hospitals after independence.

Over the decades, the facility expanded into a large specialist hospital offering services such as trauma care, neurosurgery, kidney transplants and open-heart surgery.

Today it remains a major private healthcare provider in East Africa, with modern specialist centres and a large network of consultants and staff.

What makes Nairobi Hospital unusual is its ownership structure. The hospital is owned and operated by the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), a membership-based non-profit organisation rather than a private company or government entity.

Under this model, KHA members, about 3,000, collectively own the institution and elect a board of management responsible for strategic oversight. 

The board then appoints the hospital’s executive leadership, including the chief executive officer who manages daily operations.

Despite operating as a non-profit institution under the Kenya Hospital Association, The Nairobi Hospital runs one of the largest private healthcare businesses in Kenya, generating more than Sh11 billion annually.

Supporters of the structure say it allows professionals to maintain high medical standards while preserving the hospital’s charitable origins. 

Critics, however, argue that the membership-driven system can lead to factional battles and governance conflicts when different groups attempt to control the institution.

Those tensions have become increasingly visible in recent years. In December 2024, the Kenya Hospital Association held board elections that were later challenged in court by some members who questioned their legitimacy and raised concerns about governance practices. 

In March 2025, the High Court dismissed the petition and upheld the board’s mandate, allowing the hospital to resume operations that had been affected by legal restrictions.

Leadership changes have also contributed to instability. In December 2024, long-serving CEO James Nyamongo left the organisation after his contract expired, and supply-chain director Felix Osano was appointed acting chief executive.

Boardroom disputes soon followed. In mid-2025, hospital officials warned of attempts by some members to undermine governance processes by circulating unofficial claims about changes in board leadership. 

The hospital insisted that board appointments and removals must follow procedures outlined in the KHA constitution and reaffirmed that Dr. Barcley Onyambu remained the duly elected board chairman.

The governance crisis has also attracted scrutiny from investigators and regulators. In 2025, authorities began looking into allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption within the institution, prompting the hospital’s board to pledge reforms and improved oversight.

Legal challenges have continued into 2026. In February, the High Court temporarily stopped the Kenya Hospital Association from holding its Annual General Meeting after a constitutional petition questioned aspects of the hospital’s governance. The order prevented the meeting from proceeding until the case is heard.

In mid-March 2026, several senior officials linked to the hospital’s governing body, the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), were arrested by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Those detained include:

• Dr. Job Obwaka – a veteran obstetrician and director at KHA

• Samson Kinyanjui – vice chairman of the hospital board

• Valery Gaya – a KHA director

• Chris Bichage – a former director of the association

Dr. Obwaka was arrested outside his clinic at NSSF Plaza in Nairobi and taken to Muthaiga Police Station, according to witnesses and family members.

Reports indicate that Obwaka and Kinyanjui were held at Muthaiga Police Station, while Gaya and Bichage were detained at Pangani Police Station as investigations continued.

The arrests are widely seen as connected to the ongoing leadership wrangles within the hospital’s board and the Kenya Hospital Association, which owns the institution.

Doctors’ groups and insiders say the detentions came amid an escalating power struggle over control of the hospital. 

Some insiders claim board members had been facing threats of arrest and pressure to step aside, to create room for other members linked to powerful politicians. 

Despite these conflicts, Nairobi Hospital continues to operate as one of Kenya’s most influential private healthcare institutions. 

Its complex governance structure, where thousands of members collectively own a multi-billion-shilling medical facility, remains both its defining feature and its biggest source of internal tension.