CoG calls meeting over Kiambu health crisis as doctors plan mass protest today

The Council of Governors (CoG) has called a consultative meeting today to discuss the ongoing standoff between the Kiambu County Government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), even as the union announced plans for mass demonstrations.

In a letter addressed to the Kiambu County Executive Committee Member for Health, the CoG said the meeting will be held at its Delta Corner offices in Nairobi from 9:00 a.m., with the aim of resolving the impasse that has paralyzed medical services in the county for over four months.

The council noted it had reviewed the correspondence between the Ministry of Health and the county regarding the non-commencement of medical internships for the 2025/2026 cohort, which has exacerbated the healthcare crisis.

Meanwhile, KMPDU has announced plans to lead mass demonstrations in Kiambu on Monday — the 138th day of the strike — to protest what it calls “hostile and unsafe” working conditions for doctors.

In a notice to media houses, the union said the protest will begin with a press briefing at Kiambu Level V Hospital at 9:30 a.m., before marching to the County Assembly and later the Governor’s Office.

“Kiambu has become a hostile county. The crisis shows in supervised deaths, illegal medical fees, media suppression, and persecution of health workers,” the union said in a Sunday notice to media houses.

KMPDU has been very critical of Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s administration, citing failure by the county government to resolve the months-long standoff.

The union accuses the administration of ignoring a return-to-work agreement signed last year and of neglecting the suffering of residents who have borne the brunt of the health crisis.