Doctors To Stage Mega Protests In Nairobi

KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah stated that the demonstration aims to push for the immediate deployment of medical interns and the creation of a Public Officer Medical Fund.

Doctors To Stage Mega Protests In Nairobi
Doctors on strike outside Parliament Buildings and Bunge Tower on April 30, 2024. /MARVIN CHEGE.VIRAL TEA KE

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has announced that doctors and healthcare workers will stage a major protest in Nairobi on Tuesday, March 18.

In a statement on Friday, March 14, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah stated that the demonstration aims to push for the immediate deployment of medical interns and the creation of a Public Officer Medical Fund.

“Doctors, healthcare workers, and civil servants, it's time to stand up for our rights! Join us on 18th March 2025 as we march to demand the immediate posting of medical interns and full implementation of the Public Officer Medical Fund,” Atellah stated.

Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Dr Davji Bhimji Atellah addressing journalists in Nairobi on January 31, 2023. /NAIROBI NEWS

The KMPDU Secretary General stated that the protests will kick off at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) before proceeding to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Treasury, and the Social Health Authority offices in Upperhill. Additionally, doctors and healthcare workers will march to the Ministry of Public Service.

The demos will be led by Atellah and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) Secretary General Tom Odege. They come weeks after KMPDU set a deadline of March 18, 2025, for the government to ensure all medical interns are deployed and fully compensated as per the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The union cautioned that non-compliance would lead to nationwide strikes, protests, and the suspension of medical services. KMPDU has called on the government to resolve the ongoing issues affecting medical doctors before the planned protests commence.

Past negotiations between the unions and the government have largely failed to yield lasting solutions, resulting in repeated strikes.

Although a return-to-work agreement was signed on May 8, 2024, and a strike was suspended on January 23, 2025, to allow for dialogue, the county government is reportedly ignoring their concerns.

On Thursday, March 13, doctors in Nairobi, who have been on strike for over two weeks, urged county leaders to address their grievances. They warned that if their demands were not met, the strike would continue, further disrupting healthcare services in the capital.

"The county has disappointed us; we have had numerous engagements with them, but they have fulfilled none of the agreements in the CBA. Some of the things the county is doing unjustly is dismissing doctors without protocol, without a showcase or warning letter," one of the doctors decried during a protest on Tuesday, March 11.

KMPDU SG Davji Atellah during protests in Nairobi on Thursday, February 29, 2024. /KMPDU