Francis Atwoli’s son, Professor Lukoye Atwoli has been named as a non-executive chairperson of the Mathari Hospital by President Uhuru.
Lukoye, the son of COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli, will be at the helm of the Mathari Teaching and Referral Hospital board for three years.
This appointment, which has been seen a reward for loyalty to the Executive, follows in the wake of changes which saw former IEBC commissioners also tabbed for Executive appointments.
Prof Lukoye is a consultant psychiatrist at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and at the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH). He is also the head of Mental Health Services at the Centre for Assault Recovery- Eldoret – a specialized centre for sexual and gender-based violence.
According to his profile on the university website, Lukoye is a visiting scientist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
He is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town’s Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health.
Dr Lukoye is involved in research on trauma and posttraumatic syndromes, students and youth mental health, and neuropsychiatric genetics.
Lukoye is also a social and health rights advocate and is hailed for his work on Kenya’s Mental Health Policy; National Disaster Management Policy; National Policy on internal displacement; and Policy framework for a National Values System for Kenya.
He currently serves as the Vice-President of the Kenya Medical Association and is the Secretary-General of the African Association of Psychiatrists.
Lukoye is equally the treasurer of the African College of NeuroPsychopharmacology (AfCNP), and sits on the Kenyan Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board as well on several advisory boards nationally and internationally.
Before establishing Gilgil Mental Hospital, Mathari Hospital in Nairobi had been the only public psychiatric hospital in Kenya for decades.
Gilgil Hospital, which serves as a satellite mental health facility and a referral branch of the hospital was established in November 2019.
President Uhuru had directed the Ministry of Health to establish a task force on the status of mental health in the country and come up with new policies needed to address the growing concerns about mental health among Kenyans.
The Ministry of Health is currently developing a Mental Health Action Plan as well as a Suicide Prevention Strategy.
