The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has declared a nationwide strike scheduled for October 25, escalating a bitter feud with the Council of Governors (CoG) over allegations of 136 newborn deaths in Kiambu County and a systemic collapse of the public healthcare system.
The union’s declaration, made in a fiery statement, accuses county governors of “callous insensitivity” and “supreme aloofness” in their response to a healthcare crisis that has been brewing for months. The strike aims to ‘defend the dignity of the medical profession’ and push for urgent, sweeping reforms.
The conflict reached a boiling point following the CoG’s dismissal of reports concerning the infant deaths in Kiambu. CoG Chairperson and Wajir Governor, Ahmed Abdullahi, vehemently denied the KMPDU’s figures, labeling them as unfounded “rumours.”
“The 136 deaths were not factual and were rumours being pushed by political forces trying to undermine devolution,” Governor Abdullahi stated, while also vowing solidarity with the Kiambu Governor, Kimani Wamatangi. He insisted that the Kiambu health system is fully functional, with doctors present and on duty in all facilities.
The KMPDU issued a scathing rejoinder, slamming the governors for being detached from the harsh realities faced by citizens. In their statement, the union painted a grim picture of a public healthcare system in ruins.
“For 131 days, patients, the very wananchi who pay your hefty salaries, have suffered in dilapidated facilities that bear the hallmarks of looting and supervised destruction,” the KMPDU statement read. It further accused the 47 governors of enjoying “premium private healthcare” and the ability to travel abroad for minor treatments, while ordinary citizens “are left to perish from birth.”
Beyond the strike notice, the doctors’ union has laid out a series of demands. These include a public apology and a full retraction of the CoG’s earlier remarks dismissing the crisis. Crucially, the KMPDU is calling for an independent investigation into the reported infant deaths in Kiambu and has taken the unprecedented step of urging President William Ruto to dissolve the Kiambu County government, citing gross failure in managing its health services.
Governor Abdullahi, however, has urged the Ministry of Health and the KMPDU to “stop politicising health,” asserting that healthcare is a devolved function that should be managed by county governments, not from the national Afya House.
With the strike notice now issued, the nation waits to see if a resolution can be found in the 19 days before doctors down their tools, a move that would paralyze public health services across Kenya and bring a long-simmering crisis to a head.
