- Machogu told MPs Wednesday that while he is of the view that the hospital should be utilised for the original purpose it was envisioned, he is guided by an advisory from the Attorney General.
- The CS explained that he wrote to AG Justin Muturi in January this year seeking advice on why recommendations by a Committee on Health were yet to be effected.
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Education CSM Ezekiel Machogu says his ministry is not in a position to facilitate any move to revert the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital to the management of Kenyatta University.
Machogu told MPs Wednesday that while he is of the view that the hospital should be utilised for the original purpose it was envisioned, he is guided by an advisory from the Attorney General.
"I am on the side of having the hospital transferred back to the varsity...but you know we work under the one government approach, as I make a decision I consult to avoid having a narrow view of a subject," he said.
Appearing before the National Assembly Public Investment Committee on governance and education, the CS explained that he wrote to AG Justin Muturi in January this year seeking advice on why recommendations by a Committee on health were yet to be effected.
In the letter, Machogu was categorical that the hospital be reverted to the varsity to serve its purpose and avert the "risk of other institutions of higher learning being dis-incentivised from undertaking strategic investments and developments in areas of excellence where they can impact society".
"In this regard, and before I present a Cabinet Memorandum for consideration by the Cabinet, I request your legal advice on the various steps that are required to be taken to achieve the reversion of the hospital to the University, and on any other relevant legal matter in this connection," the letter to the AG reads.
The recommendations from the report dated September 29, 2021, required health and education CSs to have KU granted full access to the hospital for use by its College of Health Sciences.
It also required the then president Uhuru Kenyatta to revoke legal notice no. 4 of 2019 and revert the facility to the KU within six months of the adoption of the report.
The notice took over the hospital and turned it into a parastatal.
In his letter to the CS, the AG held that placing the hospital under the Ministry of Health is properly based on the provisions of the Health Act, 2017.
"In our considered opinion, revoking the Legal Notice No. 4 of 2019 to remove the referral hospital from the responsibility of the Ministry of Health would be in conflict with the provisions of the Health Act, 2017," the letter by Muturi reads in part.
As a result, Machogu told the MPs that he would stick to the advice.
"In view of the foregoing, the Ministry is unable to facilitate the transfer of KUTR back to Kenyatta University," he said in a letter dated May 4, 2023.
The letter is addressed to KU Vice Chancellor Paul Wainana.
"We appreciate your vision for creating a medical training and research hub, and take cognisance of the fact that this has not evolved according to your plans," he stated.
He added:
"We are available to provide guidance and support as you explore mechanisms of resolving the present stalemate with KUTRRH in accordance with the Government advisory whose details are provided in a separate document."