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Attorney-General asks court to lift order barring DCI from Nairobi Hospital probe
Attorney-General’s office has moved to court to lift orders blocking the DCI from probing claims of money laundering and abuse of office at Nairobi Hospital.
The Attorney-General’s office has moved to court to lift orders blocking the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from probing claims of money laundering and abuse of office at Nairobi Hospital.
In a case filed under certificate of urgency, State counsel Kariuki Ragui said the High Court issued the orders on March 24 without hearing the progress of the investigations and the background of the matter.
The hospital’s board obtained court orders blocking the investigations alleging that the police officers carted away sensitive equipment and data, a move that might compromise patients’ confidentiality and a possible breach of right to privacy.
The State counsel alleged that the board of directors and the company secretary and their agents have systematically attempted to destroy evidence since the investigation began.
“They have fled with laptops and documents from the hospital grounds and were further caught in the act of attempting to dispose of important documents pertaining to this investigation which had been disguised as waste for disposal, and should the orders not be lifted, there is a high likelihood of further destruction of evidence that is in possession of the applicant and the interested parties in an attempt to obviate the truth,” Mr Kariuki said.
Mr Kariuki added that the nature of the orders is such that it curtailed the statutory powers of the inspector-general of police, the DCI and the attorney-general.
“Whereas the respondents herein endeavour at all times to comply with court orders, it has become necessary to come back to court and explain the difficulties in complying with this order, hence the need for variation,” he said.
The State counsel said the probe was prompted by whistleblowers’ complaints on the dwindling state of affairs and near collapse of premier hospital.
He added that a team of inspectors were appointed under section 800 of the Companies Act to investigate the matters pertaining to abuse of office, conspiracy to commit economic crimes and money laundering.
Mr Kariuki added that the team was also probing claims of fraud, forgery, governance, membership and financial malpractices affecting Nairobi Hospital and its directors under the Companies Act, among other offences.
He revealed that a team of investigators visited the hospital and specifically the garbage disposal area where they discovered a bag of 30 polythene sacks with 12 being clearly labelled with white stickers for ease of identification and 18 unmarked black polythene bags containing tonnes of documents and prepared an inventory of the retrieved items.
“That a glimpse of the documents retrieved from the waste disposal area revealed crucial information relating to the investigations and which the applicant and the interested parties were trying to discard, actions that are incriminating in nature,” he added.
He claimed that there were attempts to conceal and destroy evidence since the investigation began and should the orders not be lifted, there is a high likelihood of further destruction of evidence that is in possession of the hospital, in an attempt to block the truth.
The hospital had said that the DCI officers carted away sensitive documents, raising serious concerns of a possible breach of the right to privacy.
Through lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, the hospital said the attorney-general had demanded from the board, documents on its membership and status of its board of management from 2019 to date.
Search warrant
He said while the management was in the process of preparing the voluminous documents, the attorney-general moved to a Milimani court and obtained the search warrants.
The veteran lawyer said the order also allowed the multi-agency team to cart away original and copies of documents, computers, laptops, iPads, tables, digital devices and other equipment belonging to the hospital.
According to Mr Imanyara, it was unreasonable to demand documents from 2019 from a huge institution within three days.
He said without any lawful basis, the DCI and Inspector General of Police went ahead and froze the bank accounts, telephone numbers and M-Pesa accounts of the senior managers.
“The respondents (police) have demanded that the interested parties who are directors of the applicant attend requisitions to compel attendance under section 52 of the National Police Service Act, in furtherance of investigations,” he said.
Mr Imanyara submitted that the actions were unlawful, irrational and disproportionate since the investigations were not an honest endeavour at enforcement of criminal law as there are ongoing disputes on the leadership between various officers of Nairobi Hospital.
He further said the investigations were commenced to have a collateral attack against the current board.