The Nairobi Hospital board has fired CEO Dr Allan Pamba barely six months after his appointment.
In a letter dated October 2, board chairman Dr Irungu Ndirangu said Pamba’s probation period would not be extended because he had failed to provide a performance improvement plan.
The letter read, “Please note that the letter dated I01h September 2020 extending your probation period up to 12th December 2020 gave you up to 30th September 2020 to acknowledge and execute the performance improvement plan.”
“Unfortunately, you responded on 29th September 2020 and requested that the Board of Directors review your performance in line with the Board charter contrary to your letter of appointment which clearly states that the Chairman of the Board will review your performance. Your failure to execute Performance Enhancement Plan and the probation extension letter implied your lack of interest to continue working for The Nairobi hospital.”
Irungu said the Board of Management sat on October 2 and resolved not to confirm Pamba, but terminate his contract.
He will be paid two weeks in lieu of notice.
Pamba was further instructed to hand over all hospital property and clear with the human resource department.
Pamba was appointed as the CEO on March 4.
The latest move comes in a string of incidents where the hospital’s CEO have had short stints at the facility.
Pamba had taken over from Christopher Abeid who was serving in acting capacity after Gordon Odundo was fired over a clash with the board.
Prior to his appointment, Pamba was vice president of global health at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – a British multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Brentford, London.
Last year, the entire board of management was sent packing after an exceptionally stormy annual general meeting in November.
Six members were fired following the audit of the Sh5.7 billion hospital expansion project launched in 2016. Four members had resigned in advance.
The audit by Ernst and Young, discussed at the meeting, revealed procurement irregularities and conflicts of interest in the project.
Consequently, a nine-member team was voted in during a special general meeting called by KHA.