KU hospital appoints new CEO as Dagane goes on leave

 

The Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital’s (KUTRRH) board has appointed Isaac Irungu Kamau as the acting CEO until further notice.

In the appointment seen by the Star, the decision follows the Board’s decision to allow Ahmed Dagane to proceed on leave.

Isaac Irungu’s appointment is effective immediately.

“Following a resolution by the Board in a meeting held on 28th November 2024, to allow the Chief Executive Officer to proceed on leave, you are hereby appointed to the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer (Ag. CEO) with immediate effect from the date of this letter,” the letter by Chairperson Prof Olive Mugenda reads.

“Your appointment will remain in effect until further notice. You will be paid appropriate allowances as the Ag. Chief Executive Officer. We wish you well and the Board of Directors looks forward to efficient and effective service delivery,” it adds.

Prior to the appointment, Irungu served as the director IMIC and Hospital Operations.

The same was confirmed by Mugenda, who did not reveal the reasons why Dagane was proceeding on leave.

Dagane was appointed the CEO of Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital in July 2022.

The Sh8 billion facility became a state corporation under the Health Ministry after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed an order to that effect on January 22, 2019.

The facility is run by a CEO and a board of management made up of a non-executive chairperson appointed by the President.

KUTRRH is the third Health ministry parastatal after Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

In September 2023, Members of the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education censured Mugenda for appointing Dagane as CEO of the hospital yet he was not trained as a doctor.

Mugenda told the committee that Dagane is a holder of a degree in nursing and has a master's degree in Business Administration.

“The CEO is not a doctor but he is a health professional,” Mugenda told the committee led by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami.

by BRIAN ORUTA