Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has affirmed that a total of 188 nurses who were fired over alleged misconduct would not be reinstated.
This comes despite the directive from the Public Service Commission (PSC) who had ordered the nurses to return to work citing that the nurses had been sacked illegally.
The governor stated emphatically that the PSC could not overturn her decision as she had sought an order from the High Court. She added that the nurses had been replaced immediately.
"We have not budgeted for more workers. At the moment we are busy fighting the third wave of COVID-19 which is spreading fast,” she stated.
However, Waiguru invited the nurses to apply for jobs within the county if and when they are advertised to the public.
Initially, the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Kirinyaga branch chairman Steven Ndung'u had urged their members to return to work after a directive from the PSC ordering them to be reinstated.
"Things are not rosy in Kirinyaga, people are suffering, that's why we are expecting our members to be received well as they report back to work," Ndung'u stated in a past press briefing.
His sentiments were reiterated by KNUN secretary Wangui Karigi who urged the county government to cooperate and listen to the nurses' plight.
The health workers had also petitioned to be paid their monthly salaries in full as ordered by the commission who termed their firing as unlawful.
The news comes as various counties have expressed worries over the rising positive cases of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has seen the health workers overwhelmed with the majority of Kenyans flooding hospitals as a result of either getting the jab or showing symptoms of the virus.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe, in a past press briefing, urged Kenyans to adhere to the laid guidelines as he pointed the crisis in hospitals due to lack of ICU beds.
