Former Kibwezi West MP Kalembe Ndile has died.
According to his family, the ex-lawmaker passed on at the Nairobi Hospital while undergoing treatment on Saturday
The politician died at 57 after struggling with a long illness.
His body was on Sunday morning transported to the Lee Funeral Home.
Ndile, a one-time Cabinet Minister during Kibaki’s regime in 2019 dismissed rumors that had been circulated online that he had passed on.
Nairobi Hospital is set to fire more than 200 employees in a move aimed at cutting costs and clearing out staff implicated in a recent graft audit.
This is after the health facility received a nod from Court.
Justice Nzioki wa Makau dismissed a petition by Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels Educational Institutions Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha) saying it was premature since a letter by the management to the union dated March 10, was meant to open talks between the parties ahead of the restructuring plan.
The premier hospital wants to fire workers who either performed poorly or had been involved in unethical practices that were exposed in the recent forensic audit.
“Besides the staff affected by normal rationalisation, the hospital is disengaging with all staff who have perennial performance issues or were implicated in unethical practices during forensic audits,” the hospital said in a statement.
Kudheiha rushed to the Employment and Labour court to block the layoffs saying the move was targeting its members and the plan, which was disguised as restructuring, was done without following the mandatory procedures set out in the Employment Act.
But Justice Makau said since the letter was meant for dialogue, the proper solution in the case is to allow the union and the management to consult on the way forward.
Like other institutions in the country, Nairobi Hospital said it has been struggling financially amid swelling operational costs and lower revenues in the wake of an economic slowdown worsened by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But in an affidavit, the secretary- general of the union Albert Njeru said operations at the hospital were going on as usual. He said the hospital has been experiencing shortage of beds as admissions for Covid-19 patients surged, in the last eight months. According to Mr Njeru, it was insincere of the hospital to say that business has been shrinking.
The hospital admitted writing the letter, which was copied to Cabinet Secretary for Labour, intending to reduce the number of staff. The court heard that there was nothing wrong to reduce staff because of economic downturn caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
Former President Mwai Kibaki is admitted at The Nairobi Hospital.
According to reports by a local daily, Kibaki was admitted to hospital on Monday after he complained of pain on his knee.
Kibaki, 88, was in London last week for a series of medical checks where his knee was also examined. It is understood that Mzee’s knee has been paining.
“Mzee was taken to the hospital for some check-ups but we are praying for him,” a family source was quoted by the local daily.
But Kibaki’s Private Secretary Ngari Gituku vehemently denied that the ex-President was admitted. He described him as “cheerful and alert.”
Gituku said The Nairobi Hospital is one of the facilities the former Head of State occasionally visits for medical attention.
“It could be one of the medical facilities where he occasionally seek medical attention. That doesn’t mean he is there,” Gituku was quoted.
Kibaki’s predecessor Daniel Moi is also undergoing treatment at the same hospital.
Former President Daniel Moi is admitted at The Nairobi Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
Moi was rushed to the hospital on Thursday last week from his Kabarnet Gardens home, Nairobi, barely two weeks after being discharged from the hospital after a medical checkup.
According to the sources that spoke to the Star, Mzee Moi is experiencing difficulty in breathing.
“It is something to do with the breathing system. He is experiencing difficulty in breathing,” a doctor who sought not to be identified was quoted by the Star.
The local daily reports that Moi’s press secretary Lee Njiru, who is away in Nakuru county, Moi’s rural home, dismissed the hospitalisation claims, saying the retired President was relaxing at his Kabarnet Gardens home.
“Retired President Moi is relaxing at Kabarnet Gardens. He left the hospital like two weeks ago. He is not back to the hospital but is resting at his home,” Moi’s long-serving spokesman emphasised.
However, Kanu secretary Nick Salat confirmed that Moi is admitted at the hospital “for a regular check-up and not in the ICU”.
Salat said Moi had gone to the facility two days ago for a check-up, which had been scheduled the last time he was there.
“He was there some days back and had just returned as requested by his doctors. He is an old man and regular check-ups for people of his age are just normal,” he added.
He continued,“Mzee has grown old and every day he is okay we thank God. We all have people who are of that age and they go to the hospital every other time.”
Moi is under the care of his personal doctor, David Silverstein.
Moi was discharged from the same hospital on October 16 and was taken to Kabarnet Gardens, which is a few kilometres from the facility.
Former President Daniel arap Moi has been admitted to Nairobi Hospital for what the family said was routine check-up.
Sources within the family and the hospital told the Star Moi was admitted on Friday and he is set to spend some days at the hospital for intensive check-up.
“Nothing much to worry about. He is there for routine check-up and being attended to by his physician Dr David Silverstein . He is expected to spend a couple of days to allow the doctors sufficient time to check Mzee,” the source said.
Kanu secretary general Nick Salat confirmed that Moi was admitted.
“Yes, he is there just for normal check-up,” Salat, who was appointed in April, as chairman of the Postal Corporation, told the Star on phone.
But when the Star contacted Moi’s press secretary Lee Njiru, he said he was not aware the former president was sick and hospitalised.
“I’m in Nakuru and I’m not aware of such reports. I will find out and I will let you know once I get a report on the same,” Njiru told the Star on phone.
The admission of Moi comes days after Kenyans celebrated the return of Moi Day, a public holiday he created.
Moi Day was removed from the list of national holidays following promulgation of the Constitution in August 2010.
But the High Court reinstated the day to be marked as a holiday on grounds its removal was in contravention of the Public Holidays Act.
Kenya had been marking the holiday since 1988, when President Daniel arap Moi marked 10 years in power but it was scrapped in 2010.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Mating’i encouraged Kenyans to mark the day “with selfless acts of service to their community that seek to promote patriotism, national unity, social justice, cohesion and sustainable development in their communities for the benefit of present and future generations.”
It is not the first time Moi is being admitted to the same hospital. Last December, he was there for what his office said was a normal check-up.
In March 2018, Moi who turned 95 last month was flown to Israel following “an uncomfortable knee.”
While the former president has enjoyed good health since leaving office in 2002, he has had a problem with one of his knees following an accident involving his car in 2006 in Limuru.
In January 27, 2017, he underwent a minor surgery on the knee at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.
“The doctors of the former president have booked him in a hospital in Tel Aviv where they are eager to have a second opinion on his knee which has been a source of discomfort to him,” his office said last year when Moi was flown to Israel where he spent 6 days.
During his 95th birthday last month, unlike previous celebrations which have been characterised by pomp and colour, the event was a private function at his Kabarak home attended by close family members only.
Moi was born on September 2, 1924 and served as the second President of Kenya from 1978 to 2002.
He took over from Kenya’s first president Jomo Kenyatta following his death on August 22, 1978.
Moi has kept off active politics but in the recent past since the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga he has been receiving huge delegations of politicians paying him homage.
His son and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi who is keen on succeeding Uhuru in 2022 has featured most in the high profile visits which political pundits believe could be part of planning of the Uhuru succession.
Those who have visited Mzee Moi include Uhuru, his mother Mama Ngina Kenyatta, Oding, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli.
May last year, DP Ruto made his way to Kabarak but failed to meet Moi as it was alleged that the retired president was undergoing a routine physiotherapy session with his doctors for the entire duration of the visit.