Health unions have issued a 7-day nationwide strike notice in solidarity with over 700 healthcare workers who were redeployed following a 126-day strike in Kiambu County.
The unions accuse Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi of disregarding healthcare workers’ rights and presiding over poor working conditions in county health facilities.
Dr. Davji Atellah, Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), criticized the governor’s handling of the crisis, urging him to resign if he cannot meet the demands of his office.
“One individual, born like the rest of us, should not make life so difficult that people continue dying and suffering. If the governor is the problem, then he should go,” Dr. Atellah stated.
This ultimatum comes in the wake of reports that over 100 newborns and five mothers died in two hospitals in Kiambu during the four-month strike. The unions have condemned the county government as “inconsiderate” and are calling for the national government, through the Ministry of Health, to intervene.
Dr. Peterson Wachira, Chairperson of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), said: “If a county is unable to manage health services, then those services should be transferred back to the national government.”
Union leaders invoked Article 43 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to health, arguing that access to healthcare is a right—not a privilege.
In addition to poor working conditions, the unions accuse Governor Wamatangi of deliberately withholding union dues and failing to pay health workers’ salaries for the past four months. They claim this is part of an effort to undermine union activities. Kiambu County, they say, ranks among the lowest in terms of healthcare worker remuneration.
The unions are also demanding that counties absorb Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers on a permanent and pensionable basis. According to union officials, this directive was issued months ago by the Ministry of Health but has yet to be implemented.
– By Timon Otieno
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