Onyambu was re-elected chairman during the AGM, providing continuity at the top of the organisation after a turbulent period marked by competing claims over the legitimacy of the hospital’s leadership.
NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 29 — The Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), the body that owns and oversees The Nairobi Hospital, has reconstituted its Board of Management, with Dr Barcley Onyambu retaining the chairmanship amid months of governance disputes that have placed the institution under intense scrutiny.
A notice issued by The Nairobi Hospital on Friday, August 28, said the changes followed the successful conclusion of the KHA Annual General Meeting held on August 25.
Onyambu was re-elected chairman during the AGM, providing continuity at the top of the organisation after a turbulent period marked by competing claims over the legitimacy of the hospital’s leadership.
The new 11-member Board of Management comprises Onyambu, Samson Mbuthia Kinyanjui, Dr Agnes Gachoki, Dr Edwin Rono, Dr Magdalene Muthoka, Prof John Mwero, Akinyi Gaya Valerie, Anne Njuguna, Moses Ondaba, Wycliff Wanzala and Lekek Chebii.
According to the notice, Kinyanjui remains vice chairman, a position to which he was elected on December 4, 2024.
Gachoki remains chairperson of the Medical Advisory Committee, having been elected to the position on August 25, 2025, while Rono is its vice chairman following his election on March 16, 2026.
Muthoka, Mwero and Gaya Valerie were elected to the board in December 2024, while Njuguna, Ondaba, Wanzala and Chebii were elected during the August 25 AGM.
The board said its composition was undertaken in accordance with Articles 38(a), (b) and (e), 40, 42, 43, 46, 47 and 51 of the KHA Articles of Association governing the constitution and composition of the management board.
The latest changes come against the backdrop of a protracted leadership battle at one of Kenya’s largest private hospitals.
The dispute has previously involved competing claims over who legitimately occupies the chairmanship of the KHA Board, with Onyambu and Prof Herman Manyora’s factions at one point issuing conflicting positions.
In July 2025, a faction led by Manyora claimed Onyambu had been removed as chairman through a board resolution. The hospital, however, rejected the claim and maintained that Onyambu remained the duly elected chairman.
The dispute subsequently spilled into the courts. The Court of Appeal in October 2025 dealt with an application arising from a High Court case involving KHA, its Board of Management, Onyambu and senior officials of the association.
The governance questions have also attracted parliamentary attention.
In March 2026, the Senate was asked to investigate concerns surrounding the governance, regulation and service delivery at The Nairobi Hospital, with senators citing disputes over board elections, the legitimacy of office holders, trustee powers and major financial decisions, including proposed borrowing and capital expenditure.
The controversy has partly centred on the unusual ownership structure of the hospital.
Unlike conventional private hospitals, The Nairobi Hospital is owned by KHA, a membership-based organisation registered as a company limited by guarantee.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale explained in March that the hospital is member-owned and does not have conventional shareholders.
This structure makes the KHA membership particularly significant because members participate in determining the institution’s leadership.
In March that KHA’s membership rose by 696 people in 2024 to 3,211, up from 2,515 the previous year. The sharp increase attracted scrutiny because the membership register plays a critical role in determining who participates in the governance and election of the board.
The hospital’s governance structure has therefore made board elections particularly consequential, with competing groups seeking influence over an institution that operates one of the country’s largest private healthcare facilities.
The leadership disputes have also raised concerns about the impact of governance problems on the hospital’s operations.
In March, a group of senior consultants said they had sought President William Ruto’s intervention, citing concerns over management and governance. The doctors said they met the President on February 27 to seek assistance in resolving challenges they believed threatened the institution’s stability.
The hospital, however, maintained that its services remained operational despite the governance dispute, assuring patients and staff that clinical and support services continued uninterrupted.
Duale also acknowledged that the institution had faced governance and financial-management challenges, while stressing that its legal structure did not allow it to simply be privatised.
