- On July 29, the board of management questioned, via a letter, why Mosiria signed imprests without the permission of the superintendent.
- Mosiria also wrote to NMS Director of Health Services Josephine Mbae for intervention, accusing Dr Mutai of interference in the operations of departments.
Image: COURTESY
Mbagathi Hospital health administrative officer Geoffrey Mosiria has been suspended for being behind wrangles at the facility, the board of management says.
Last month, it was revealed that the fight pitting Mosiria against medical superintendent Loise Mutai was about who should sign warrants of imprest. Given the goings-on, Mosiria has been in the board's bad books.
In a letter dated September 18, the management board, led by chairman George Osewe, accused him of "a series of misdemeanours" at the hospital. The board says this informed his suspension.
Mosiria was accused of consistent efforts to paint the hospital in a bad light through negative publicity meant to cause disaffection and disharmony between Dr Mutai and the staff.
Mosiria joined Mbagathi Hospital in April 2020, from Pumwani Hospital where he served in the same capacity, while Dr Mutai came in June and was elevated to the medical superintendent position, replacing Joseph Karani.
“There are reports that he (Mr Mosiria) has openly threatened the medical superintendent. We also have a complaint we made earlier about the same officer concerning the irregular cutting of trees and disposal of the cut logs. Please, find evidence of the same in the attached letters,” the letter reads.
The letter was addressed to Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director General Mohammed Badi.
Osewe said in the letter that the health administrative officer had repeatedly sent adverse communications to Mutai and the hospital, as well as shared on social media and done interviews on the same “adverse allegations”.
“The board has deliberated on these matters and has decided to suspend the officer, Mr Geoffrey Mosiria, from the hospital. The above-named officer has caused a lot of acrimony and incitement at the hospital in the past several weeks,” the letter reads.
The letter was signed by Osewe and board members Mwangi Njihia (Woodley MCA), Fatuma Musa, Gerald Kimeu, Anne Waceke and Patrick Mwirigi.
The turf war started on July 29, when the board questioned, via a letter, why Mosiria signed imprests without the permission of the superintendent.
"The medical superintendent may, however, periodically delegate this responsibility to the HAO. You (Mosiria) are expected to adhere to this regulation to maintain order and accountability in imprest expenditure,” the board said.
The letter was addressed to Mosiria and copied to board chairman Osewe.
Mosiria responded on July 30 citing the inability of his office to discharge its duties as holders of support service offices reported directly to Mutai.
He sought clarification on Mutai's statement on the delegation of the responsibility to sign imprests to the HAO.
On the same day, Mosiria also wrote to NMS Director of Health Services Josephine Mbae for intervention, accusing Dr Mutai of interference in departments, hence making them unable to perform their delegated duties and responsibilities.
Dr Mutai wrote a letter on August 31, accusing Mosiria of "gross misconduct and insubordination". She said Mosiria subjected her office to total insubordination, harassment and threats, "conduct utterly unacceptable".
However, speaking to the Star, Mosiria denied receiving any letter from the superintendent concerning his conduct. He dismissed the issues raised on imprests and accused the management of wanting to deny him the right to sign the warrants.
“The law is clear on who is to handle the imprests I don’t get it why the superintendent wants to control everything," he said.
The Nairobi County Operational Manual for Management of Facility Improvement Fund of June 2016 identifies medical superintendents as the mandatory signatories and health administrative officers as alternative signatories.
Edited by F'Orieny