Governor Irungu Addresses Laikipia's Trending “Motorbike Ambulances”

By Fatuma Rashid Arfun

Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu has distanced his administration from the controversial “motorbike ambulances” project, which has drawn mixed reactions and raised concerns over the prudent use of public funds.

Appearing before the Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee on Thursday, Irungu said the initiative was not funded or implemented by the county government.

The Governor was speaking when appeared at the Senate to answer to questions arising from the Auditor General’s 2024/2025 report on several county health facilities.

The audit queries touched on Doldol Sub-County Hospital, Rumuruti Sub-County Hospital, Nyahururu County Referral Hospital and Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital.

The session turned tense when Laikipia Senator John Kinyua raised concerns about the deployment of what he termed “motorbike ambulances” within the county.

“How did you come up with this genius idea? Are these actual ambulances or merely motorbikes pulling trolleys?” Kinyua asked during the committee sitting at Bunge Tower.

The Governor said the motorbike ambulance project was neither initiated nor funded by the county, adding it was a civil society pilot and not part of the audited county programmes under review.

“My officers attended the launch, but that does not mean I support it or have invested county funds. Because of the poor perception, we are planning to replace them with proper ambulances,” the Governor explained.

The committee then shifted focus to discrepancies flagged in the hospitals’ financial statements, questioning the credibility of officers responsible for preparing the accounts.

Vice-Chairperson Eddy Oketch sought clarification from the county’s lead accountant on whether he was in good standing with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.

The accountant admitted he was not in good standing with the professional body, prompting senators to question his professional compliance and suitability to oversee county financial reporting.

The committee directed the Governor to take administrative action to ensure professionals serving in the county are duly accredited and compliant with their respective regulatory bodies.

“I welcome the directive and assure you, Honourable Senators, that corrective measures will be taken to address the concerns raised,” the stated.

Senators flagged unapproved patient bill waivers as irregular and open to abuse. Although hospital managers cited humanitarian grounds, the committee insisted the waivers must strictly comply with the law.

“Governor, you must regularize these waivers to prevent the abuse of waivers and exemptions,” the committee ruled as the Governor undertook to review the waiver framework and align it with legal requirements.