Dr. Majid Twahir was to serve a six months probationary period after the hospital commenced its operations on July 19, 2021, when it opened its doors to patients then. However, on August 13, 2021, while still serving his probation, he was unlawfully and unfairly terminated, and his termination letter was purportedly signed by the chairman of the board. He was, however, not given the reason for his termination, and he was not invited to a disciplinary hearing
A former CEO at the AAR Hospital Ltd along Kiambu Road, who was hired and fired even before completing the six-month probation period, has won a labour dispute case against the hospital. Dr. Majid Twahir filed a lawsuit in the Employment and Labour Relations Court on August the 16th 2021 demanding damages for what he claimed was an unfair termination of his employment.
Dr Twahir claims in his affidavit that he has over twenty years of expertise as a medical director, health care manager, and administrator. He had worked as a medical director in several facilities, including the Nairobi Women’s Hospital and Aga Khan Hospital, among others. According to records seen by The Weekly Vision, Dr Twahir was employed as Chief Executive Officer of the AAR hospital on February 9, 2021, at a time when the hospital was still undergoing construction. In his employment contract, he was entitled to a monthly salary of Ksh. 1.7 million and Ksh. 10,000 in telephone allowances, as well as medical insurance for him and his immediate dependents.
He was to serve a six months probationary period after the hospital commenced its operations on July 19, 2021, when it opened its doors to patients then. However, on August 13, 2021, while still serving his probation, he was unlawfully and unfairly terminated, and his termination letter was purportedly signed by the chairman of the board. He was, however, not given the reason for his termination, and he was not invited to a disciplinary hearing. Furthermore, he avers that he was not informed during the period of his employment that he had under performed.
The AAR management confirmed having employed Dr Twahir and that serious issue arose during his probationary employment, which raised serious doubts about his suitability to hold that position. Some of the issues are about setting key performance indicators and performance concerning senior management, and from March to July 2021, there were no set performance indicators for the said senior management.
Among other accusations, Dr Twahir was accused of hiring the staff for roles with salaries that were higher than what was budgeted by the hospital. After considering all these issues, the AAR Hospital management terminated him on August 13, 2021. But Dr Twahir, in a quick rejoinder, claimed that some of the accusations were communicated to him after he was dismissed. The
The AAR group CEO Steve Okero claimed that Dr Twahir was terminated because he had poor leadership skills. He did not set performance indicators, and he employed staff un-procedurally.
In a ruling dated July 31, 2023, by Judge Ann Ngumbuini, she noted that “the court is therefore obliged to find the claimant was entitled to be given a valid reason for his termination” The judge further noted that “the hospital management did not demonstrate giving Dr Twahir an opportunity to defend himself on allegations of poor performance”.
The judge in her ruling noted that “flowing from the pleadings, the evidence, and the submissions, the court is satisfied the claimant was, even though at the tail end of his probationary period, unfairly and unlawfully terminated from his employment. He seems to have left a lucrative job, and barely five months later, he was terminated without a valid reason, and it is clear the hospital was being set up”. The judge said in her ruling, “The claimant only worked for a few months.” One month’s salary is awarded at Ksh. 1,700,000 as compensation for unlawful termination”.
