The management of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) on Wednesday,at 13 2026, faced a rigorous session before the Public Investment Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture (PIC-SSAA).
This is after lawmakers demanded an explanation on a series of audit queries ranging from non-compliant procurement processes to millions in missing inventory.
The inquiry centered heavily on the procurement of oxygen generating plants and the hospital’s failure to conduct due diligence as recommended by its own tender evaluation committee.
The Committee Chair, Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) took a firm stance on the hospital’s decision-making regarding a 500-liter-per-minute oxygen plant currently lying idle.
“In your response, you have not responded as to why you did not comply with the tender evaluation committee recommendation on the need to conduct the due diligence,” the Chair noted, further questioning why project engineers failed to sign off on final project appraisal documents.
Are MTRH oxygen plants working?
In his defence, the CEO of MTRH Dr. Philip Kirwa explained that the older equipment had become a liability due to rapid technological shifts.
“The 575 L per minute oxygen plant is actually obsolete because the technology of generating oxygen totally changed,” the CEO stated, adding that the South African company that manufactured it no longer exists, leaving the hospital without a source for spare parts.
He noted that the newer 2,000l per minute plants are now fully operational to meet the high demand sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The heat intensified when auditors revealed that stock items valued at Kshs. 23,381,677 were missing from the hospital’s stores during a physical count.
The Hospital management attributed the variance to the relocation of drugs and supplies to the new Chandaria Cancer Center without updating the digital records.
Nominated MP Jackson Kosgei however expressed skepticism with this explanation, accusing the management of administrative negligence.
“What is it that follows? Is it the record that follows stock or the stock that follows the record?” he asked.
“When you are transferring from point A to point B, there must be a record. You are just trying to put the cart before the horse,” he added.
The Chairperson echoed these concerns, warning of potential foul play.
“There is a possibility of manipulation of the records,” the Chair remarked, ordering the Head of Finance to provide reconciled schedules.
“The audit query remains, but we need to get proper schedules. Otherwise, we will hold the management responsible,” he warned.
How many nurses did MTRH hire?
The hospital was also asked to justify the irregular employment of 18 nurses beyond the approved 70-person limit and the hiring of foreign specialists without clear proof of Public Service Commission approval.
The CEO defended the hirings as a necessity of the pandemic and a lack of local expertise in niche fields.
“A lot of medicine is very dynamic and with a lot of specializations that we do not have in this country,” the CEO explained, citing “interventional radiologists” as a field where local experts were nearly non-existent at the time.
Regarding the extra nurses, the CEO noted that there were quite a large number of infected staff.
“Without an option of taking in staff, it meant we would have had wards without staff, he explained to the lawmakers.
The Committee gave MTRH management until May 21, 2026 to file comprehensive feedback including signed minutes to regularize these discrepancies.
It further asked the hospital to work towards minimizing the very huge list of audit queries to ensure the institution can continue serving the public effectively.
