NYERI, Kenya — President William Ruto has elevated the Mwai Kibaki Referral Hospital in Othaya, Nyeri County, to the status of an independent national medical facility and announced fresh public investment to upgrade its services, marking a major shift in the region’s health and development infrastructure.
In a statement posted on X after addressing residents of Chinga in Othaya, the President said the government had injected Sh500 million into the hospital to support its transformation and expansion.
“We have established Mwai Kibaki Referral Hospital in Othaya, Nyeri County, as an independent national medical facility, and injected Sh500 million to upgrade it to better serve the people of the region,” Ruto said.
The elevation of the hospital places it within Kenya’s national referral system, a move that typically brings direct funding from the national government, expanded specialist services, and higher-level regulatory oversight under the Ministry of Health.
President Ruto gazettes Mwai Kibaki Hospital in Othaya as an independent Level 6 Hospital in honor of the late former President Mwai Kibaki.
National referral hospitals are mandated to handle complex cases and serve as centres of excellence for training, research and specialised care.
Ruto also announced that Nyeri County would receive Sh21 billion in public investment aimed at boosting local infrastructure and economic activity.
“We have also invested Sh21 billion in Nyeri County to build modern markets, affordable houses and students’ hostels in our mission of taking every part of Kenya forward,” he said.
The projects fall under the government’s broader development agenda that links housing, markets and social infrastructure to job creation and regional economic growth.
Affordable housing and student hostels form part of the national government’s flagship programmes under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, while modern markets are intended to formalise trade and improve revenue collection for counties.
