Over 20 Congolese doctors working in Kenya have sued the Ministry of Health and Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale after the Ministry refused to renew their 2026 licences and work permits.
In an application filed on Monday, January 12, under a certificate of urgency by lawyer Danstan Omari, the doctors termed the move by the Ministry arbitrary and discriminatory.
Omari, speaking on behalf of the foreign medics, argues that the doctors were members of the East African community, yet they were denied license renewal even after Duale reaffirmed that members of the EAC would not be affected by the move to ban foreign doctors.
“He is very categorical that all doctors from the East African community will be offered employment. That statement is not true. Congolese doctors have not been allowed to renew their licences,” Omari stated.
According to the lawyer, the doctors have also been facing a series of problems in the country. He noted that the doctors in the last year had to pay up to ksh 500,000 for their renewed licenses from the required ksh 20,000.
The doctors want the court to issue orders of prohibition against CS Duale, the Ministry of Health, and other state agencies, accusing them of violating their constitutional, labour, and administrative rights.
Further, the medics insist that they are qualified doctors from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and have lived and worked in Kenya for over a decade, serving both public and private health institutions.
They claim that despite years of seamless practice, they have been unable to renew their practising licences for 2026 due to new requirements and costs imposed by the authorities.
In a warning, the doctors warned that without urgent court intervention to allow the renewal of their licences and permits, many patients would be deprived of essential medical care. At the same time, the affected practitioners and their families would suffer severe economic hardship.
Their grievances followed Duale’s orders, which gave Kenyan-trained health professionals priority in licensing and employment before foreign doctors and other health practitioners, a move that was supported by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
Duale noted that this policy aligned with international best practices, which recommend prioritising the domestic health workforce, noting that no country had built a sustainable health system by mainly relying on a foreign workforce.
KMPDU, while pledging support to the CS's directive, accused private facilities of exploiting cheap labour from foreigners and hence locking Kenyan professionals out.
However, Duale's orders exempted practitioners from the EAC member states, reaffirming Kenya’s commitment to regional integration and mutual recognition agreements. But following the petition by DRC doctors, Duale's commitment is questioned.
Even as the matter is expected to be placed before a judge for urgent directions, the doctors called on both the Kenyan and the DRC governments to come together and find a lasting solution in case such matters arise in the future.
