By Lauryne Akoth
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has threatened to sue doctors for failing to comply with court orders to call off the strike despite both parties agreeing on a return-to-work formula.
She noted that the Ministry of Health received Kshs 6.1B for the settlement of the issues raised by doctors.
“As a government, through the ministry, we have received a total of Kshs 6.1 B for the settlement of issues raised by doctors. Following the doctors’ refusal to call off the strike, we have instructed our council to immediately move to court and file a status report as to what we had agreed to and initially owned as a return to work formula,” Said Nakhumicha.
She further added that the counsel was also instructed to appeal to the court to review orders initially issued so that the Ministry of Health Could take necessary action against Doctors.
“We will be asking our counsel to appeal to the court to review the orders that had been issued initially so that we are allowed to take the necessary action to ensure Kenyans continue to enjoy healthcare services,” Nakhumicha affirmed.
The doctors have been on strike for 41 days since March 14, 2024, resulting in the paralysis of service provision across all public health facilities.
In their strike notice dated March 6, 2024, they listed 19 issues. Head of Public Service Felix Koskei announced on Monday that eighteen of these issues had been resolved.
Both parties were scheduled to sign a return-to-work agreement on Monday afternoon. However, Koskei mentioned that doctors’ representatives failed to attend due to being engaged in a briefing meeting with their counsel late into the night.
Despite Koskei’s confidence that the agreement would be signed on Tuesday, the doctors remained firm that the issue regarding interns must be addressed.
KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah and KMPDU’s Deputy Secretary General Dennis Miskellah have since expressed their views on the same.
“Waziri Nakhumicha, the doctors are saying that the 6.1 Billion you have offered them, kindly take 3.4 billion from it and pay the interns. We shall share the balance. As doctors our training and instinct is to protect the vulnerable. Amongst us, interns are the most vulnerable and we must stand with them. Thank you very much,” affirmed Miskellah.
On the other hand, KMPDU Secretary General Atellah stated, “Dear Government, the doctors are saying that since you have publicly said that you conceded to 18 of our 19 demands(except internship), kindly take back the 18 and give us the 1. As a community, we are not used to abandoning the most vulnerable, and to us, interns are currently very vulnerable.”