Meet doctor at the centre of dispute: Man of many firsts

Dr George Kiongera, the man at the centre of the land controversy pitting former President Daniel arap Moi against United States International University-Africa, is a person of many firsts.

Based in the United States, Dr Kiongera was the first Kenyan to be awarded a doctorate degree in nursing practice, specialising in healthcare management. He was also the first Kenyan to be published in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing for his work in easing the discomfort of elderly patients with breathing problems.

Currently, he runs a home health and hospice agency in the State of Massachusetts, called Maestro-Connections Health Systems.

“We offer medical care to patients from the comfort of their homes. We provide a hospital bed, nurses, physical therapist, personal care assistant and a physician as needed,” said Dr Kiongera.

The facility, which has been running from 2009, has 1,000 employees.

But Dr Kiongera was not always in the medical profession. He trained as an accountant at the Kenya Institute of Administration in the 1980s and his first job was as an accountant with the Kenya Farmers’ Association. He relocated to the US in 1999, where he started his medical career.

PLAGUED WITH PROBLEMS

“I chose nursing because I needed a profession that would give me a foothold, something that would be marketable in the States. I did a Bachelor of Science degree course at the University of Massachusetts Lowell before specialising in nursing later on,” he said.

He holds a post-master’s certificate in Palliative and End of Life Nursing Care, Master of Science and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the same university.
According to Dr Kiongera, he came back home in March to finalise buying of the now-disputed land and thought that he would fly out shortly after as the new owner of the prime eight-acre property in Muthaiga, Nairobi.

But his trip has been plagued with problems. “I had been banking with Chase Bank and when it went under, so did my money. I had to look for a new bank and settled on Equity,” he said.

He is now embroiled in a court case over disputed ownership of the land, which he maintains that he bought from retired president Moi.

“I have big plans for that property. I want to build a mall, a hotel and a block of high-end flats,” he said.

Dr Kiongera is married with three children and two grandchildren.