The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has announced that Nairobi County doctors will go on strike on Thursday, February 27.
In a statement on Wednesday, February 26, KMPDU said that the strike, which will kick off at midnight on Thursday, is due to a series of factors, including illegal salary stoppages and dismissals, chronic salary delays, stalled promotions, unpaid gratuities, and delayed confirmation letters.
According to KMPDU, these factors have significantly incapacitated doctors in the county to effectively deliver quality medical care to patients.
"Strike notice: All Nairobi County doctors will down their tools at midnight on February 27 due to illegal salary stoppages and dismissals, chronic salary delays, stalled promotions, unpaid gratuities, and delayed confirmation letters," it stated.
"Doctors don’t choose to strike—but how can we care for patients when we are deliberately incapacitated? For quality healthcare, doctors must be valued, supported, and empowered to serve," it added.
The strike comes a week after the Union's Secretary General Davji Atellah issued a 30-day strike notice to the Ministry of Health.
“We are giving the government 30 days to solve this issue of payment and posting of medical interns. Otherwise, on March 18, 2025, we will start a series of weekly demonstrations,” Atellah remarked.
Davji's notice came after a video surfaced of Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa speaking at the Health Summit 2025 at Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's Karen residence on Monday, February 17.
In the video, Barasa stated that the government will pay the new cohort of interns Ksh70,000, in contrast to the Ksh206,000 agreed upon in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
“During our meeting in November/December, we talked about Ksh206,000, but for the new cohort we’re talking about Ksh70,000, and so negotiations will start to ensure that this is implemented,” the CS said.
Responding to Barasa's comments in his official X account, Atellah warned that tampering with the medic's salary would attract serious consequences.
“Anytime you touch our salaries, you are inadvertently giving yourselves a strike notice as the government. CS Barasa, consider it served,” stated the KMPDU boss in a statement on X.
