The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Bhimji Atellah on Monday, July 8, claimed that unknown individuals had hacked the Union's X social account.
Davji made the statement minutes after the account posted that the planned protests at the Ministry of Health Headquarters had been suspended.
The post was met with backlash from Kenyans and was quickly deleted.
"Reports circulating to the effect that #OccupyMoH has been suspended is false. The union handle has been compromised and we are trying our best to gain control of it and clean it," the KMPDU boss stated.
"We must overhaul the system including those that have hacked the union handles."
Davji assured healthcare workers that the Union remained focused and determined to go forward with the planned strike.
The KMPDU Secretary General did not reveal to the public how the organisation had been able to delete the tweet if the account was truly compromised.
Additionally, there was no clarification message posted on the KMPDU account after the deleted post raising fears of a split in the Union over the planned protests to take place at Afya House, Nairobi.
Medics had been planning the protests to pressure the government into posting and paying medical interns.
The healthcare workers were also agitating for the firing or resignation of Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha arguing she was underperforming.
In the now-deleted post by KMPDU, the Union had stated the strike was being called off because of ongoing discussions and commitments made towards ensuring all medical interns are posted in accordance with the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
It was not immediately clear whether the decision to announce that the X (Twitter) account had been hacked was prompted by backlash from Kenyans.
