A press briefing by striking doctors at Msambweni County Referral Hospital in Kwale County turned chaotic after a group of unidentified goons disrupted the assembly while police watched.
The doctors, who had assembled to highlight grievances over delayed salaries and poor working conditions, were forced to flee as the goons, armed with clubs and riding on motorcycles, stormed the venue.
The doctors, drawn from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), condemned the incident, calling it an unprecedented act of intimidation.
“We were just standing outside the hospital when they came at us. We had done nothing provocative. This is the first time we’ve seen such hostility directed at doctors,” said one of the union officials.
According to the doctors, the goons locked the hospital gates, blocking the doctors from accessing it, while police, whom the doctors expected to help, apparently just watched.
“At this point, we also noticed a heavy police presence, watching while we were attacked. So we are really trying to beseech because we have important issues regarding Kwale doctors that we want to be addressed, and it is not in good faith when something like this happens,” another doctor decried.
The doctors faulted the county for not valuing their doctors and the patients by ignoring them.
“We would like to categorically condemn what we have seen today in the Msambweni County Referral Hospital. We have been chased away by goons. We have never, and I can categorically say this, KMPDU has never seen such a kind of act,” the distressed doctors cried out.
The doctors had gathered to address the media over the ongoing strike, which began on June 29.
According to a strike notice issued earlier by KMPDU, the county government had failed to pay salary issues and allowances on time, denied doctors their rightful promotions, and refused to grant study leave to those seeking to upgrade their qualifications.
KMPDU Secretary General Dr Davji Atellah had warned that unless the issues were resolved, doctors across Kwale County would withdraw their services.
The use of goons to disrupt the constitutional right to picket has been on the rise lately. Barely a week ago, goons disrupted the June 25 commemorative protests, destroying properties and leaving business owners counting losses.
