Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana is always known for being vocal in national issues affecting the country. However, little is known about his brother, Patrick Kibwana who landed a job in the county government as the Chief Health Officer.
Patrick studied at Mang'u high school and proceeded to the University of Nairobi where he studied medicine.
After completing his studies, he became a senior medical doctor, working at various hospitals in the county in a bid to perfect his craft.
During a past public hearing, Patrick opened up on battling depression due to family and work-related issues.
He disclosed that he sought counselling after the depression made him to develop suicidal thoughts.
"I suffered from anxiety for a long time which eventually spiralled into severe depression. Depression is not for the poor as many people think. I suffered from it despite the fact that my wife and I are both medical doctors," he stated.
He has been at the forefront of health services advocating for issues within the county such as mental health, equipment in hospitals as well as benefits for doctors and clinical officers.
Recently, Kivutha Kibwana was put to task over Patrick's appointment to the county government.
"It has been brought to our attention that there is nepotism in your county. I’m sure there could be other candidates that could best fit that role." Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina stated.
Further, the committee questioned why health matters were being handled by the Health chief officer and not the county Public Service Board.
“Governor Kibwana you can see the conflict of interest if your brother was employed by the PSB why are these matters of frontline health workers being handled by him and not the board? I thought that was their work,” nominated Senator Mary Seneta stated.
Responding to the issues, Kibwana maintained that he did not take part in hiring his brother. Further, he defended his brother by affirming that he had the necessary qualifications to undertake the job.
