Medics on strike vow daily demos over ‘old’ issues
By George Kebaso, July 15, 2025Healthcare services at 129 health facilities across Nairobi have been severely affected as clinical officers enter their 84th day of industrial action, according to a survey by the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO).
The striking medical professionals have threatened to stage daily protests if their grievances remain unresolved by July 16, 2025, expressing frustration over what they describe as being “taken around in circles” during more than 80 days of fruitless negotiations with the county government.
The clinical officers are placing responsibility squarely on Governor Johnson Sakaja, citing his failure to address what they term “age-old issues” that have plagued their profession.
According to George Gibore, the Union’s secretary general, the medics are demanding resolution of several critical issues.
“Failure to re-designate Clinical Officers as per their specialisation and qualifications; non-implementation of the 2024 career progression guidelines (CPG) for Clinical Officers, and the delay to convert and right-placement of officers in line with the new CPG provisions,” Gibore stated during a press briefing with journalists in Nairobi yesterday.
The clinical officers are particularly frustrated by delayed promotions that should align with the approved career guidelines for clinical officers 2024.
The prolonged industrial action has severely disrupted health services across the county, with KUCO providing a detailed breakdown of affected facilities by service delivery level: 74 Level 2 facilities, 42 Level 3 facilities, 12 Level 4 hospitals, and one Level 5 facility
Urgent call
The sole Level 5 facility is operating with minimal services provided by intern clinical officers, a situation Gibore described as problematic.
“Regrettably, the interns are being compelled to work contrary to intern government policy, which stipulates that they must only operate under supervision,” he pointed out.
Gibore called on Governor Sakaja and the Council of Governors (CoG) Labour Committee Chairman to resolve the crisis immediately before it escalates into a “full-blown disaster where patients are going to die.”
He noted that Sakaja’s membership in the CoG’s Committee on Health makes his prolonged inaction particularly puzzling.
“Today’s statement serves as a formal call to the Governor of Nairobi City County, His Excellency Johnson Sakaja, to take full political and administrative responsibility for this healthcare crisis and move with urgency to address the long-standing grievances of Clinical Officers,” Gibore urged.
However, he emphasised that the solution requires “genuine dialogue, commitment to policy, and respect for labour rights and professional recognition” rather than “intimidation or propaganda.”
Peterson Wachira, the union’s national chairman, highlighted additional issues, including five clinical officers who were irregularly excluded from postings despite their service under the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
Additional concerns
“We are concerned about the status of health care in Nairobi, and as you may already know, about 83 days ago, around 550 clinical officers started their strike. This has led to many facilities around Nairobi not working,” Wachira said, noting that even operational facilities are not functioning optimally.
Wachira expressed particular concern about what he termed the “carefree nature” with which the Nairobi county government has handled the crisis.
“As we stand here today, our dispensaries, health centres, level 4 hospitals around Nairobi, and most of the outpatients and theatre services are not available,” he noted.
Constitutional concerns
He explained that only facilities capable of handling minimum safety measures or emergency services remain operational, a situation that has persisted for three months while clinical officers have unsuccessfully sought an audience with the governor.
Wachira accused county officers of frustrating the negotiation process, questioning whether they are acting under the governor’s instructions.
“And so today we have called for this briefing; one, to call them out because they are denying Kenyans and the citizens of Nairobi access to health services against Article 43 of the Constitution, but also to inform wananchi that the administration does not seem to care for them,” he added.
He invited Nairobi residents to join tomorrow’s planned protests.