The construction of the much-awaited National Police Service Hospital will commence soon, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai has said.
The IG was responding to a question from one of his followers on Twitter during the #EngageTheIG session on Monday.
The tweep identified as Abraham Shegu had taken the IG to task over the delayed launch of the referral hospital promised by his predecessor Joseph Boinnet.
“When are we going to have Police healthcare facilities that will be used to treat mainly police officers and the retirees (just like Kenya Defence Forces and their Moi Forces hospital)? of late we have had so many cases of illness & death (covid-19) of Police officers,” the tweet reads.
The police boss responded, “Thank you for your concern, Abraham. We have ongoing plans as part of our development agenda on building an NPS hospital. Construction is to begin soon.”
Thank you for your concern, Abraham. We have ongoing plans as part of our development agenda on building an NPS hospital. Construction is to begin soon.#EngageTheIG https://t.co/esXzvUzBaj
— Inspector General of Police- Kenya. (@IG_NPS) April 12, 2021
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Since June last year, the IG has been dedicating an hour every alternate Monday to engage with the public personally on a live Twitter chat with the aim of addressing various queries relating to police conduct and NPS at large.
The issue of a police hospital dates back to March 2016 when Boinnet revealed plans by NPS to construct a 300-bed referral hospital that will cater for both serving and officers who retire honorably just like in the military.
Boinnet then said the hospital would be operational in two years (2018).
The officer revealed that the land near the Inland Container Depot (ICD), which had been identified for the construction of the hospital, was taken by the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), hence delaying the project.
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He, however, said the project had received necessary approvals and would go on as planned.
“The land has been identified and plans have been approved. We have also secured the funds for the construction,” he said.
Boinnet, whose tenure came to an end in March 2019, was appointed to the Tourism Ministry as Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the same year.
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