Nakuru: Auctioneers seize Mediheal Hospital's Ksh.40M assets over unpaid salaries

Assets worth Ksh.40 million belonging to Mediheal Hospital in Nakuru were on Wednesday seized by auctioneers.

The auctioneers, who recovered 10 vehicles and electronics, asserted that the Nakuru Law Courts granted the orders after 18 doctors working at the facility filed a petition seeking to have the hospital remit their unpaid salaries.

Tango Auctioneers Director John Muthee Ngunjiri said a comprehensive report on the recovered sum of the seized assets will be submitted to the Nakuru High Court on August 4, 2024.

"The plaintiffs are the doctors who have not been paid by the hospital's owner. I have instructions from the court to attach what belongs to Mediheal to recover the money. If not, I'll go to the immovable assets," Ngunjiri told Citizen TV.

Since the beginning of the year, Mediheal has been facing financial constraints, resulting in the hospital's inability to compensate some of its employees for several months.

In February for instance, Mediheal Hospital staffers in Eldoret downed their tools in protest over delayed salaries, a month after issuing a strike notice.

Led by Lorna Jeptum, the workers voiced their grievances over six months of unpaid wages, accusing the hospital management of remaining silent in the face of their plight.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, the demonstrators expressed surprise at the continuation of work by some of their colleagues despite not receiving their rightful compensation.

The protest came after a visit by the Parliamentary Committee on Health, which shed light on the hospital's financial woes.

Delays in disbursing NHIF funds by the national government reportedly contributed to crippling the hospital's services, exacerbating the financial strain on its staff.