Healthcare services across Laikipia County remained severely disrupted for the third consecutive day on Friday, June 19, 2026, as nurses maintained their strike, leaving public hospitals paralysed and patients stranded amid a deepening standoff with the county government.

The ongoing industrial action, which began at midnight on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, has crippled service delivery in all public health facilities, with nurses demanding urgent intervention over long-standing grievances they say have been ignored despite repeated agreements with the county government.

Laikipia nurses’ key demands

Among the key demands are payment of seven months’ salary arrears, absorption of contracted nurses into permanent and pensionable terms, implementation of long-overdue promotions, provision of comprehensive medical cover, and recruitment of additional staff to address persistent shortages in the health sector.

As the strike intensifies, the nurses’ union has now urged residents to discharge patients from all public hospitals where possible, warning that only limited emergency services are being offered.

Speaking during the strike, nurse Edith Nduta described the situation as unbearable, citing prolonged salary delays and worsening living conditions.

“Leo tumekuja hapa kwa sababu the county government of Laikipia wamekataa kutulipa for seven months,” she said.

“We do not have clear information on how we are going to be paid or how we are supposed to work.”

Nduta said the situation had pushed many health workers into financial distress, making it difficult for them to meet basic family needs.

“Personally, siwezi afford basic needs like sanitary pads just because somebody somewhere decided not to pay me. I have a small child. How do I raise a child without a salary for seven months? How do I afford diapers?” she said.

“We are suffering. It is either you pay us or we stop working. Your lies do not pay our bills. We want action.”

Return-to-work formulas

She added that nurses had repeatedly signed return-to-work formulas with the county government, but none had been fully implemented.

“We had an agreement one year ago, but it has not been honoured. We have had like four return-to-work formulas; if we sign another one, it will be the fifth. We are tired,” she said.

Nduta also raised concern over the continued failure to absorb contracted nurses into permanent and pensionable terms despite years of service in county hospitals, as well as delays in medical cover and staffing shortages that continue to strain the health system.

Laikipia nurses’ union chairman Peter Ndiba echoed similar frustrations, accusing the county government of repeatedly failing to honour agreements and neglecting the welfare of health workers.

Ndiba said nurses had previously suspended strikes in good faith following promises from the county, but the commitments had not been implemented.

“We had an agreement a year ago, and the return-to-work formula has not been honored. We are now approaching what would be the fifth agreement if another one is signed. We are tired as nurses,” he said.

Ndiba also highlighted the plight of contracted nurses who have worked for years without being absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms despite prior agreements.

“These workers have served this county for many years without being absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms. We agreed they would be taken in, but we are still being told to wait—that it is a work in progress,” he said.

He strongly condemned the delay in salary payments, questioning how workers could survive without pay for seven months.

“It is very shameful that a worker is made to go seven months without pay after doing their job. Why should a worker be left without salary for seven months? They have families and responsibilities. It is shameful to the County Government of Laikipia,” Ndiba said.

Ndiba further emphasised that nurses would not resume duty until all outstanding issues are fully addressed, warning that the strike would continue despite mounting pressure.

“Na wakati huu tunasema hakuna kurudi kazini kwa sababu tumekaa miaka miwili tukizungumzia mambo ambayo yanajirudia yanajirudia yanajirudia. Tutakaa nje mpaka yale mambo yatekelezwe,” he said.

He added that most patients had already been issued discharge notices and urged families to collect their relatives from hospitals where possible.

“Discharges zimepeanwa already… so if you know you have a patient in any Laikipia County hospital, please make arrangements to pick them up,” he said.

Ndiba noted that only minimal services would continue in wards for patients who had not yet been discharged, mainly pain management and basic care.

He cautioned that the continued presence of patients in facilities during the strike could lead to misunderstandings about service delivery, insisting that responsibility now lay with the county government to resolve the crisis.

By the time of going to press, public hospitals across Laikipia remained largely non-functional, with patients either turned away or seeking costly alternatives in private facilities. The county government had yet to issue a comprehensive response to the escalating crisis.

The nurses maintain that they will remain on strike until all agreements are implemented in full, signalling a prolonged disruption to healthcare services across the county.