Senate sets September deadline for end to KU-KUTRRH clinical training standoff
The Senate Health Committee has termed the stalemate unacceptable and detrimental, warning that further delay will not be tolerated and may prompt parliamentary intervention.
Kenyatta University and the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) have until September to resolve a protracted standoff that has prevented medical students from accessing clinical training at the facility.
The Senate Health Committee has termed the stalemate unacceptable and detrimental, warning that further delay will not be tolerated and may prompt parliamentary intervention.
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The directive was issued on Thursday during a meeting convened by the committee at Bunge Tower, where senators heard that the unresolved dispute has compelled students to seek clinical placements in alternative facilities in Kiambu and Thika, despite the existence of a state-of-the-art national referral hospital located just next to their university.
KUTRRH Board Chairperson and former Murang’a Senator Kembi Gitura acknowledged the bizarre nature of the situation, stating that although the hospital operates under a different legal framework, he agreed with the Senate that the impasse must be resolved in the interest of the students.
“I was appointed chair of a board guided by existing legal instruments. But I fully agree that this is not about personalities. It is about ensuring our students receive the training they deserve,” Gitura said.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, faulted both institutions for prioritising turf wars at the expense of learners and warned that Parliament will not sit back and watch as bureaucratic wrangling undermines medical education.
“Let’s be very clear: the welfare of these students is not negotiable. We are seeing signs of distraction and internal competition that must stop now,” Mandago said.
“This is not about who runs what; it’s about providing the best possible training for our country’s future doctors.”
While the committee agreed to grant an extension requested by the institutions, it directed that the Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor, the KUTRRH Chief Executive Officer, and a Joint Implementation Committee submit a full progress report by the September deadline, regardless of whether a formal Senate summons is issued.
The committee’s warning now puts pressure on the leadership of the two public institutions to iron out administrative and legal differences that have frustrated integration, and to guarantee access to clinical training for students enrolled in KU’s School of Medicine.
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