Cardinal Njue seeks to bar media in row over hospital

DENNIS OKEYO | NATION
The entrance to St Mary’s Mission Hospital at Nairobi’s Langata estate. John Cardinal Njue has gone to court seeking to block the media from covering an ownership dispute over the hospital.

John Cardinal Njue has gone to court seeking to bar the Press from covering a dispute over multi-billion shilling properties in which he is a party.

The case has been brought against Cardinal Njue and a nun by a Catholic priest.

The dispute is over the ownership and management of two mission hospitals and the land on which they were built.

“The matter is of great public concern, to the Catholic faithful who stand to be prejudiced by any negative media reflection of the church,” says a lawyer, Mr Nangulwe Muniafu on behalf of Cardinal Njue.

He argues that the nature of the suit itself, the status of the parties, the circumstances and the common interest of the parties to the dispute call for confidentiality and should be handled through alternative dispute resolution.

The priest who instituted the main case in August this year, has accused Cardinal Njue and the nun of trying to take over the property of St Mary’s mission hospitals unlawfully, but the two have denied the allegations.

Dr William Charles Fryda of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Society in the United States claims that the two are attempting to kick him out with an aim of taking over the property.

But Cardinal argues that Dr Fryda’s case is full of falsehoods.

Mr Muniafu says any reports on the case both in print and electronic media should be blocked because the matter has already attracted adverse publicity.

The main case was instituted by the priest against Cardinal Njue and the nun, Marie Therese Gachambi of the Assumption Sisters.

Cardinal Njue wants the court to refer the case to arbitration because as the head of the Catholic Church in Kenya, he can establish a competent tribunal to hear the dispute in accordance to Canon Law.

“It is in the interest of parties to protect and maintain good relationships as exemplars of the Catholic congregation by settling the dispute through arbitration, Mr Muniafu says.

The Cardinal says the dispute involves two religious institutions of pontifical authority and should not have ended in court, but referred to the Regional Superior.

He argues that as the head of Catholic Church in Kenya, he seeks to exercise his ecclesiastical authority given to him by Canon Law to which all parties in the case ascribe truly to by virtue of holy religious vows that bind them together.

Dr Fryda is laying claim to the ownership of the hospital. He says he single-handedly sourced for funds to buy the parcels of land and construct the institutions after getting a go-ahead from his Catholic order, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Society.

St Mary’s hospitals are situated in Nairobi’s Lang’ata estate and Elementaita in Nakuru County.

In his witness statement, he claimed he incorporated the Assumption Sisters as trustees for the purpose of registration of the land where the hospitals are situated, since he is a foreigner.

The registration, according to him, was to be transferred later to a limited company called St Mary’s Mission Hospital. But this never happened because “the Sisters called him a trespasser”.

He alleges that Cardinal Njue and Sr Gachambi registered Pacis University College — a private institution — using title deeds for the hospitals’ land.

He further accused the Archbishop of trying to influence him to resolve the dispute out of court.

He has also opposed Cardinal Njue’s application to have the matter settled through arbitration and to bar the media.

He says the application is incompetent and not properly supported.

The priest has asked the court to dismiss the application. Cardinal Njue’s application will be heard on January 28 by High Court Judge Hatari Waweru.