A group of Catholic nuns have gone to court to stop a priest from running four church institutions.
The
Assumption Sisters of Nairobi sued Father William Charles Fryda over
claims of harassment, intimidation and mismanagement of funds.
They want the court to stop Fr Fryda from controling St Mary’s Mission Hospitals in Nairobi and Elementaita, St Mary’s Education Centre and Regina Pacis University College, a constituent college of the Catholic University.
They are also seeking orders to stop the priest from holding titles of three parcels of land in Langata, Elementaita and Sagana, Kirinyaga.
Further, they want him to produce audited and accurate accounts of the receipts from donations, medical payments, sale of assets and liabilities from the two hospitals.
“Father Fryda and his instigated servants
are repeatedly and provocatively engaged in insults and misconducts that
if all are made subject of various actions, the parties here would
spend their entire adulthood in the courtrooms,” said the sisters in an
affidavit.They claimed that Fr Fryda had refused to account for the funds generated from the hospitals since 2009.
They want the court appoint Dr David Peter Githanga and Dr Jane Kabutu Gatumbu as joint receiver managers for the two hospitals respectively.
They submitted that the receiver managers be tasked with employment of teaching, nursing and general staff as well as receiving and accounting for incomes generated by the health institutions.
The application, supported by an affidavit sworn by Sister Marie Theresa Gachambi, claimed that Fr Fryda had committed various acts of insubordination and affront to the dignity of the principle of St Mary’s Education Centre.
“On May 3, he incited the teachers of St Mary’s Education Centre to forcibly and violently remove Sr Jacinta Ngula as principal and installed Alexander Kaboro, and to boycott attending the school assembly if the sisters working there are present,” swore Sister Gachambi.
She claimed that school fees is collected by a teacher and handed over to a Fr Bahati who is the hospital administrator instead of the principal.
The nun said they risk losing their property.
The petition was certified as urgent by Justice David Maraga who directed that it be heard on August 23.