Guru Nanak Hospital owners dispel claims that internal wrangles are affecting operations

EARB has been embroiled in controversy after a section of its members accused the current committee of overstaying in office, having been elected in 2018 and mandated to serve for two years before another committee is elected.

The wrangles have ended up on the desk of the Registrar of Societies and now in the High Court.

Following the allegations, the EARB leadership has come out to set the record straight.

In an interview with Citizen Digital, EARB Secretary General Manminder Singh Jandu denied any wrangles within the board, saying the board committee is united but one or few individuals keen on vying for board positions are allegedly peddling lies to various media outlets.

Jandu said the main issue being contested is a delayed Annual General Meeting (AGM), where members will get the chance to vote and elect new leaders.

He said the delay was necessitated due to, among others, the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw social and religious gatherings banned for a period of time.

“What has been lacking over the years is the presenting of audited accounts to the membership in good time. There have been delays, some we have to take the blame for, yes, I cannot say that we are 100% right, on the other hand, there were several factors that caused this delay,” Jandu said.

He said it wasn't until mid-2022 that the situation eased up. They then took the step of writing to the registrar of societies, asking for time to prepare for the AGM. The registrar gave them until March 2023 to do so.

The committee set March 26, 2023, as AGM day, but still, the audited accounts were not ready.

“We then requested for some time, and we were given up to June 30, 2023. However, some of our members were disgruntled, if I may say so, and they went to the registrar and we were told that we have to hold the AGM on March 26, 2023.”

Jandu says that they wrote back to the registrar because of their concerns about the short notice and the challenge that their audited accounts were not ready. But the push and pull did not help as the registrar maintained that the AGM had to be held on March 26 as directed.

The committee pushed to the wall, moved to the High Court and got a stay order for the March 26 AGM date. Armed with the order, the committee embarked on hastening the process of auditing the accounts.

While at it, Jandu says the registrar once again insisted on a March 26th AGM date, something the committee believes is in contempt of court.

“The AGM did not happen on March 26. Another letter was written from the registrar’s office, which is being used in the malicious stories being written in the media that we are illegally in office, which is not true.”

The committee has now set the AGM for May 21, 2023, where members will get the chance to change the board leadership.

Jandu says during this period, attendance at the Pangani temple has not been affected, and functions like weddings have been taking place. He says this points to the support the board enjoys from the members, except for a few who are disgruntled by the board's lengthy stay in office.

His sentiments were echoed by EARB President Jaswinder Singh Virdi and the advocate for the board Ben Musundi.

Virdi said no resources have been misused during the time they have been in charge of the board, and asked anyone concerned to do an individual audit of the board accounts.

On the state of the Guru Nanak Hospital, he said everything is in place and all the stories circulating out there are simply not true.

“We are very transparent; we are very clear. Nothing has happened at the hospital; all payment services have been up to date; suppliers and doctors have been paid; and a lot of people do come here and appreciate our hospital.”

"We, as the committee, came in in 2018 with 22 others, and we can assure you that no shilling has been lost. We can account for each and every shilling at our hospital and at our temple. All accounts are there you can verify.”

Mr Musundi urged Kenyans to shun the ‘lies’ peddled by individuals eyeing the board seats, saying every statement put out is false and malicious.

“These malicious words are being peddled by one malicious member who wants to be secretary-general by all means. The procedure for election is there, let him follow it,” Musundi said.

On his part, Jandu said he is saddened by the false claims that Guru Nanak Hospital is on its deathbed, challenging those keen on knowing the truth to visit the facility and do their own investigation.

He said the hospital prides itself as the first emergency facility whenever there is a calamity on Thika Road.

“The hospital has gone through a tough time like any other hospital in the city during Covid because we were not a Covid centre. Our business at the hospital went down 35–40%, and obviously, there is a huge reduction in your business to that level will cause a strain on your cash flow. However, we had resources through which we have managed those challenges,” Jandu said.

Apart from overseeing and conducting religious activities for the Sikh community, the EARB also engages in charitable activities, among them feeding members of the community through its youth association.

Jandu said the EARB has distributed over 11 million meals to members of the community, and they provide free meals at the Pangani temple on a daily basis.

EARB, formed in 1935, is one of the largest Sikh religious temple organizations in Africa. It represents the larger part of the Sikh community in Nairobi and indeed East Africa.