By Sam Alfan.
Nairobi Hospital has suffered a major setback after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered it to pay former Chief Executive Officer Gordon Otieno Odundo Sh72.9 million for wrongful dismissal.
The court found that Dr. Odundo’s summary dismissal in 2019 was unjustified and unlawful, ruling that the process leading to his termination failed to meet the standards of substantive and procedural fairness as required under Sections 41, 43, and 45 of the Employment Act.
“A case of unfair and unlawful termination of employment therefore ensues in the circumstances, and I hold as such,” the court ruled.
This ruling marks yet another blow to the premier medical facility, which has recently lost several similar cases involving its former chief executives.
In August, the hospital was ordered to pay former CEO James Nyamongo Sh100 million. Just weeks earlier, Dr. Allan Pamba, another former CEO, had been awarded Sh206 million for unlawful termination.
In Dr. Odundo’s case, the court awarded him three months’ salary in lieu of notice amounting to Sh14 million, 12 months’ compensation for unlawful dismissal totaling Sh56 million, and additional payments.
According to the court, the process leading to Dr. Odundo’s termination—after being headhunted from Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, where he had served as CEO—was procedurally flawed.
The court noted that he was issued a show-cause letter requiring a response within seven days but was denied access to his office, preventing him from retrieving materials necessary to respond adequately.
“The atmosphere in which the claimant was operating had already been poisoned and soured from the date the respondent’s lawyers attempted to storm the claimant’s office,” the judgment stated.
The court observed that despite the passage of time, the environment remained tense and hostile, reflecting the hospital’s determination to remove him from office.
“It is no wonder that the claimant from day one presents a case of a pre-determination to terminate his employment,” the court added.
Dr. Odundo recounted that in April 2016, Nairobi Hospital undertook an extensive recruitment process for a high-calibre, experienced professional to serve as CEO. He was shortlisted and recommended by the board based on his qualifications, skills, and competence.
During recruitment, he was assured that the position would last until retirement. Relying on this assurance, he resigned from Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, where he had worked for 13 years.
He was formally appointed as CEO on May 14, 2016, for an initial four-year term beginning October 4, 2016. His employment was confirmed on June 28, 2017, effective April 1, 2017.
Dr. Odundo said he was ready and willing to continue serving for another term until retirement. However, in 2018, tensions arose when seven members of the hospital’s board allegedly conspired to remove him from office.
In December 2018, while in a meeting at his office, he claimed that security officers and the hospital’s lawyers tried to forcibly enter to serve him with documents and remove him from his position—an incident he described as humiliating and dramatic.
A series of events followed, culminating in his dismissal in April 2019.
The hospital defended its actions, citing an Ernst & Young (EY) audit report, but the court noted that the report was never shared with Dr. Odundo nor produced in court as evidence.
Furthermore, the court found that a disciplinary hearing was scheduled before his response to the show-cause letter had been considered.
“This is a blunt indicator of bias on the part of the respondent. Why would the respondent not have awaited and considered a reply to the show-cause letter before setting a date for the disciplinary hearing?” the court asked.
“It would have been the ideal situation in a normal disciplinary process, but that was not the case here due to the respondent’s predisposition to hastily terminate and remove the claimant from the premises,” the court concluded.
