Clerics implore President Ruto to intervene on doctors’ strike

Clerics in Kiambu County have called on President William Ruto to intervene and solve the ongoing doctors’ strike in the country.

The clerics under the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya (FEICCK) aver that the striking doctors have disrupted operations in key public hospitals as their union’s stalemate with the government persists.

Led by the group’s General Secretary and the Presiding Bishop at Glory Outreach Assembly (GOA) Church, Bishop David Thagana, the Men of cloth raised concerns that Kenyans across the country have continued to suffer the brunt since services have been grounded in all public health facilities.

Talks to end the strike hit a snag on Wednesday after the government side led by Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Head of Public Service Josphat Nanok refused to engage the striking medics any longer until they called off their work boycott.

Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union on the other hand through secretary general Davji Atella insisted the strike would go on, with doctors assembling in Nairobi to protest.

Some of the issues that the doctors want addressed by the government are the posting of interns and their salaries, Collective Bargaining Agreement and counties to harmonize doctors’ pay.

Bishop Thagana said that Kenyan patients are at crossroads and undergoing untold suffering since they cannot access health care. He reiterated that the government’s promise and agenda of providing access to Universal Health Care for Kenyans is at stake due to the persistent industrial action by the medics.

The clerics also quipped that the government should change its tact in handling the conflict including constituting a new team to engage the medics noting that the current attempts to solve the impasse has proved futile.

His sentiments were echoed by Pastor Humphrey Mwilu who said that innocent Kenyans are losing their lives despite having a sitting government that can offer solutions in place.

Mwilu queried why it has taken so long for the government to address the plight of doctors saying that the issue is being handled with laxity at the expense of Kenyans.

Mwilu called on leaders across the country to speak up on the crisis saying that they should be in the forefront in agitating for the interests of their suffering electorates.

Hilda Wambui said that mothers, and especially from humble backgrounds, are giving birth at home while they have been forced to take care of the sick at home since there are no services rendered in the public hospitals.

She pointed out that most Kenyans cannot afford to go to private health facilities since they are too costly.