Cabinet secretary for health Susan Nakhumicha has stated that individuals demonstrating are using the opportunity to paint an image of neglect and incompetence against the health ministry despite the ongoing discussions to resolve intern posting issue.
On a recent post, Nakhumicha wrote that the individuals demonstrating are hoping that this will propagate a feeling of hopelessness and incite chaos in the wider population.
“It is regrettable that despite the ongoing discussions,some individuals are demonstrating and using the opportunity to paint an image of neglect and incompetence against the Health Ministry, hoping that this will propagate a feeling of hopelessness and incite chaos in the wider population,” she said.
To put pressure on the government to deploy medical interns under the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), medical professionals camped outside the Ministry of Health offices at Afya House in Nairobi on Monday night following a day of protests.
Despite the city’s light showers, the health workers continued their picketing for the majority of Monday night outside the Health Ministry buildings in Upper Hill. In the evening, they lit candles and flashlights to carry on the protest late into the night.
Outside the facility, additional medical personnel were spotted dozing off in camping sleeping bags.
Secretary General Davji Atellah of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) earlier stated that the union has been having a number of meetings to execute the return-to-work formula at the Ministry of Health and Kenyatta National Hospital.
As per the 2017 CBA, Atellah claims that the internship posting controversy was supposed to be settled in 60 days.
The doctors announced a day and night sit-in protest at the Ministry of Health beginning on July 8 in response to the government’s disregard for the terms of the 2017 CBA.
Nevertheless, a bogus tweet from the union’s official X account purportedly stated that the protests had been put on hold since talks with the administration were still ongoing.
Later, the secretary general of KMPDU made it clear that the protests will go on as scheduled, revealing that the union’s account had been compromised.
Read also: KMPDU Blames CS Nakhumicha As Doctors’ Strike Enters Day 12