Doctors to stage mass demonstrations in Kiambu next week amid row over newborn deaths

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU) has announced a change in the date of its planned demonstration in Kiambu County, pushing it from Wednesday, October 8, 2025, to Monday, October 13, 2025.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the union said the decision was made to allow for more consultations with relevant stakeholders, as doctors continue pressing for accountability, better working conditions, and improved healthcare services.

“KMPDU wishes to inform members, partners, and the public that the planned Kiambu demonstration, initially scheduled for Wednesday, 8th October 2025, has been rescheduled to Monday, 13th October 2025,” the union Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah said in the notice.

“This adjustment is intended to ensure broader participation, effective coordination, and meaningful engagement with all relevant stakeholders as we continue to demand accountability and dignified working conditions for doctors, as well as quality healthcare for all Kenyans.”

Dr. Atellah added: “KMPDU remains unwavering in its commitment to defending the rights of healthcare workers and upholding the highest standards of service to the nation.”

This comes after the KMPDU boss sharply criticized the Council of Governors (CoG) for what he termed an “indifferent and heartless” handling of the Kiambu health crisis, accusing the county bosses of trivializing the deaths of 131 newborns.

In a strongly worded statement on Monday, Dr. Atellah said the union was “deeply shocked and outraged” by the CoG’s dismissal of the reports as “pure mischief” and “false publication.”

He described the statement, signed by CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi, as a grotesque display of indifference and a distortion of fact.

The doctors’ union Secretary General accused Governors of issuing press statements detached from the realities in Kiambu’s hospitals, where families continue to mourn their children.

He said the CoG’s defense of Kiambu’s health services as “functional” was a falsehood, insisting that the deaths, death certificates, and grieving parents spoke for themselves.

KMPDU linked the deaths to what it called systemic failure and negligence by county governments, saying the ongoing doctors’ strike in Kiambu was the result of “broken promises and blatant neglect.”

Kiambu County on Tuesday however came out to accuse KMPDU of exaggerating reports of new-born deaths in the county amid the ongoing doctors’ strike.

In an interview with NTV, the county's Chief Officer for Health Services Patrick Nyagah said the figures released by the union were “alarmist and inaccurate,” claiming that the reported numbers had been deliberately inflated to create panic.