The gynaecologist who founded Nairobi Women’s Hospital can now breathe a sigh of relieve after the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved his acquisition of the 75 per cent stake from an American Private Equity Fund, meaning he now regains full ownership of the medical facility.
Doctor Sam Maina Thenya owned 25 per cent of the hospital while the rest belonged to Evacare Group, an American private equity fund.
The competition watchdog CAK approved the unconditional acquisition of Evercare’s stake by Thenya in Healthlink Management Limited, which is Nairobi Women’s controlling firm.
“This approval has been granted based on the finding that the transaction is unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market for the provision of health care services by private hospitals in Kenya, nor elicit negative public interest concerns.” CAK said in a statement.
The development comes after damning allegations that Nairobi Women’s Hospital received funding from various organizations including Germany’s DEG, France’s Proparco, and the World Bank’s IFC.
The 2023 Oxfam report, dubbed “Sick Development,” says despite receiving the funding from these institutions, Nairobi Women’s Hospital engaged in human rights violations and financial exploitation of patients instead of subsidizing the cost of health services.
The damning report highlights cases of patient detention, including instances where patients’ bodies were held over unpaid bills.
The report also mentions a secondary school boy who was detained for almost a year in 2018 due to an outstanding bill, whereby a court ruled that the hospital had acted unlawfully and violated the Kenyan Constitution by detaining the boy.
Thenya then came out in defense of the institution, stating that the institution had revised its policies after the court ruling.
The approval returns the hospital into the fold of Doctor Thenya, an entrepreneur who is also involved in the real estate business, specifically leasing.
On the other end, it reduces Evacare’s footprint in Kenya’s private hospitals, which also has investments in Avenue Group Hospital, Ladnan Hospital, and Metropolitan Hospital.
CAK explained that the transaction only involves an increase in shareholding in Nairobi Women’s Hospital by an existing shareholder, hence the merger will not negatively affect competition for the provision of healthcare services by private hospitals.
“Premised on the foregoing, the authority determined that the proposed transaction will not lead to substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the market for the provision of health care services by private hospitals in Kenya or any part of Kenya.” CAK stated.
