The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU), led by its Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer Davji Atellah, on Wednesday, condemned a viral video of two people, a man and a woman, openly assaulting a healthcare worker.
In the incident, which reportedly took place at Busia's Port Victoria Hospital, the pair was captured shouting vile words, with the woman even attempting to throw jabs at a nurse who was preparing to attend to a patient.
"This is rudimentary, illegal, and immoral. The attitude and actions of politicians and their cronies to threaten healthcare workers at their place of work should be curtailed," Davji Atellah commented on the confrontation that ensued thereafter.
"The safety of healthcare workers is threatened in such facilities. The perpetrators of this heinous act should be brought to book urgently."
Furious, the two allegedly went ahead to draw a gun, forcing the helpless nurses to flee from the scene, according to eyewitnesses.
In the video, the woman, in particular, could be heard questioning the woman's credibility before going ahead to strew the record-keeping books placed on the office desk.
According to the video, the two were lamenting over the hospital workers' failure to offer urgent attention to a patient they claimed was in a critical condition.
"We brought in a patient with an emergency, she cannot breathe. Go inside there...Do you want to record my face? Record!"
The incident sparked outrage among Kenyans, especially doctors, who condemned the heinous act, with most of them calling for immediate action against the duo.
"Unacceptable. DCI, please do something," veteran doctor Lukoye Atwoli urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to arrest the suspect.
"This kind of barbarism terrifies me. Just because you know a politician doesn't give you priority in hospital. Does the violence help your patient get treatment faster, or does it waste time for everyone else? I'm curious about your thoughts on this," commented Dr Andrew Githiria.
"Healthcare workers face such barbaric attacks every day. This is just a case that got public attention. What these idiots with alleged powerful connections forget is that it's the same connections who are supposed to make sure the facility is well-equipped with resources," Dr Harry Otis added.