Kakamega Catholic Bishop Joseph Obanyi/SCREENGRABKakamega Catholic Bishop Joseph Obanyi has disputed claims that St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Mumias received Sh82 million from the Social Health Authority (SHA), revealing that the institution has only received Sh9 million.
Speaking in Kakamega, Bishop Obanyi, under whose authority the hospital operates, alleged that the figures announced by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi were misleading and did not reflect the reality on the ground.
He clarified that the Sh9 million disbursed was strictly designated for the renal unit, not for the hospital’s wider operations, which remain crippled by lack of funds.
“Since June this year up to now, we may have received about Sh9 million, which is designated for the renal unit. The hospital itself has not received any money, as claimed from the SHA, which would easily go to the patients,” the clergyman said.
His remarks followed Mudavadi’s sentiments during a burial ceremony in Malava earlier, where the Prime CS insisted the hospital had received Sh82 million out of a pending Sh117 million.
Mudavadi went further to suggest that if the hospital was facing operational challenges, it could be due to internal mismanagement rather than a lack of government support.
“The hospital has been paid Sh82 million out of Sh117 million. If they want to argue, we are ready to produce evidence, how much they received in November and December last year… I have it even on my phone here, I can read it right now. So, if there was mismanagement at that hospital, they should not drag the whole nation into it,” Mudavadi said.
But Bishop Obanyi pushed back, stating that the focus should be on solutions to revive the once-thriving institution that has served communities for more than a century.
“Talking about Sh82 million has been disbursed, then the hospital is still closed, is "cheap politics!" We need the money and then we will revive. It’s not a government hospital, it’s a mission hospital that serves poor people. So we cannot make politics out of that,” the Bishop stated.
He added that St Mary’s closure was the direct result of financial strain, with staff unpaid and operations suspended, not mismanagement as implied.
“If I can’t pay you, how can I keep you in the job even for the next month? If anybody has to believe anybody, at least believe the Church. We have no other way in which we spend money except in those hospitals,” Obanyi said.
St Mary’s Hospital, a Catholic mission facility, closed its doors after decades of service to low-income patients.
The closure has left a significant gap in healthcare provision in Mumias and its environs, with leaders now trading blame over financial accountability and government support.
