After over 150 days, the doctors' strike in Kiambu has officially been called off following a deal between the Kiambu County Government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
On Friday, October 24, the doctors were instructed to return to their work stations by 8 am on Monday, October 27.
The decision to end the strike came after mediation efforts led by the Council of Governors, who facilitated discussions between Kiambu County Government and the KMPDU to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
Addressing members of the press after the deal, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah revealed that the union and the county government had agreed on a return-to-work formula that addressed issues raised by doctors in Kiambu.
Atellah added that the union had been given assurances by the county regarding issues such as promotions, salary delays, doctor transfers, statutory deductions and medical insurance, all of which had been causing problems for doctors.
"I want to say, that the strike that began on May 26, 2025, that has now gone for over 150 days, is hereby called off," he declared.
"We would like to ask the doctors to resume their jobs on Monday, October 27, 2025 with immediate effect," Atellah added.
The strike was a response to what KMPDU termed the failure of the Kiambu County Government to address these issues.
Spanning several months, the strike led to the paralysis of health services in the county, forcing patients to seek healthcare from expensive private hospitals, which are unaffordable for many locals.
The matter was further compounded by reports of 136 babies dying in various public health centres in the county, sparking massive debate on Kiambu’s capacity to manage its health services.
For their part, Kiambu asserted that the numbers were inflated, without the required verification from the Ministry of Health, resulting in inaccuracies, claiming that KMPDU was doing this to cause alarm and paint an inaccurate picture of the current situation.
Kiambu Chief Officer for Health, Patrick Nyagah, explained that in some cases the deaths were not verified, adding that most of them happened in referral centers, where there was a possibility that some of the ‘deaths’ being recorded were of casualties that had already come in as corpses.
Governor Wamatangi, on the other hand, accused his political opponents of causing the health sector issues, adding that it was only a small number of doctors who were striking.
The situation in Kiambu attracted the attention of Members of Parliament (MPs), who even called for the transfer of the county’s health services to the national government.
Also, lobby groups gave the Kiambu County Government a seven-day ultimatum to address the issue, threatening to petition the national government to dissolve the County.
