Kakamega's long-delayed Sh6.2 billion Level Six hospital is nearly finished, Governor Fernandes Barasa says. He says President William Ruto will commission it before the end of the year.

Barasa toured the site on Friday. He said the 750-bed hospital is 90 per cent complete and that the contractor has committed to finishing the works by November 30, The Star reported on Monday. The governor said the facility "will be officially commissioned by President William Ruto before the year ends."

From stalled flagship to KDF rescue

Former governor Wycliffe Oparanya started the hospital as a flagship project of his administration. It then stalled for more than three years, and the half-finished blocks became a symbol of what critics called a wider failure to complete devolved projects across the country.

The rescue came in October 2025. On October 13 that year, the project was handed to the Ministry of Defence under a national-county partnership, and the Kenya Defence Forces took over supervision of the first phase. The Star reported in November 2025 that KDF engineers were running the works and that money for the new contractor would go through the Ministry of Defence.

Barasa said the remaining work covers completing Block A, internal and external finishes, remedial and external civil works, and electrical, mechanical and other support services.

What the hospital will offer

Once it opens, the governor said, the facility will have "14 theatres, CT Scan, X-ray services and many other advanced services." Plans also include maternity and neonatal wings, intensive care units, diagnostic and treatment units, and a medical training school.

Barasa said the hospital will employ about 3,000 people across its departments. County officials expect it to work as a regional referral and teaching hospital, and they hope it will draw patients from outside the county.

That would mark a big change for Western Kenya. Patients who need specialised care in the region now usually travel to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu, or Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. The trips add time and cost for families already dealing with serious illness.

A record of missed deadlines

The new date is the latest in a long run of targets. When the KDF took over in late 2025, Barasa said the first phase would be ready in nine months, The Standard reported. In September this year, People Daily cited Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo as saying the facility would be finished by December 2026. Reports also differ on the hospital's size. The September update described a 350-bed facility, while the county gives a figure of 750 beds.

There is also a gap between the headline and the detail in Monday's report. The Star's headline says the hospital will be commissioned "before January." The body text has Barasa saying it will happen before the year ends, after a November 30 completion date. No commissioning date has been announced.

For residents who have watched the project stall and restart, the coming weeks will show whether this deadline holds. If it does, the Kakamega facility will be one of the largest health investments in the region since devolution began in 2013. It would also be a rare example of the national government and a county jointly rescuing a stalled flagship project.

Photos: People Daily (Kakamega Level Six Hospital); The Star (Governor Fernandes Barasa inspecting the works).