Members of the National Assembly (MPs) in the Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture raised questions on the presence of two Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
The committee, chaired by Navakholo constituency MP Emmanuel Wangwe, was left puzzled after the hospital’s CEO, Dr Evanson Kamuri, failed to appear before it for the second time.
In his place, Dr William Sigilai, who is the acting CEO at KNH, showed up before the committee, introducing himself as the de facto CEO.
Two CEOs
However, this did not sit well with MPs, who questioned how two individuals could hold the same high-ranking position concurrently.
“Why are you having two CEOs, yet there is a substantive CEO who is the accounting officer and to whom we had invited here?” Wangwe questioned during the session.
In his response, Sigilai explained that he was appointed to act by the hospital’s Board of Management since Kamuri was on leave.
“The letter from the board of management was issued to me since the CEO is on leave, and that office cannot be left vacant,” he said.
However, the explanation did not satisfy the committee members. They demanded to see not just the appointment letter but also the board’s minutes confirming the meeting that led to the decision. This, they argued, was necessary to validate the authority of Sigilai’s role.
Accounting officers
The MPs were particularly uncomfortable with the idea of both Kamuri and Sigilai being regarded as accounting officers simultaneously.
They observed that such a situation could lead to confusion and accountability issues at the institution.
As the grilling continued, the committee chairperson registered his frustrations with the lack of clarity. He emphasised that it was the second time the hospital had failed to present the appropriate official for the session.
“We cannot continue with this meeting having the wrong person. This is the second invite, and in the third, it will be termed as a sermon to you, the management,” Wangwe warned, signalling stricter action in the future.
Kamuri became the KNH CEO in 2019 after the then CEO Lily Koros was fired after doctors performed a brain surgery on the wrong patient.
His journey at KNH, however, began more than 20 years ago, where he held various pivotal positions, including Director of the KNH Prime Care Centre and Director of Affiliation and Institutional Development.
