Doctors in Kiambu County are set to resume duty on Monday after their union, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU), reached a deal with the county government to end a strike that had crippled health services for more than 150 days.
The breakthrough was achieved after marathon negotiations facilitated by the Council of Governors, which brought together representatives from both sides to resolve the long-running impasse.
KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah announced on Friday, October 24, that the union had signed a return-to-work agreement with the Kiambu County Government addressing key grievances raised by doctors.
"I want to say, that the strike that began on May 26, 2025, that has now gone for over 150 days, is hereby called off," he said.
"We would like to ask the doctors to resume their jobs on Monday, October 27, 2025 with immediate effect," Atellah added.
According to Atellah, the county leadership had assured the union that all pending matters — including delayed salaries, unpaid promotions, staff transfers, medical insurance, and statutory deductions — would now be resolved.
The strike, which began in late May, brought public hospitals in Kiambu to a standstill, leaving patients without access to treatment and pushing many to seek care in expensive private facilities.
The situation escalated when reports surfaced alleging that 136 babies had died in public health centres during the strike. The claims caused a public uproar and renewed scrutiny of Kiambu’s management of its healthcare system.
County officials disputed the figures, insisting they were exaggerated. Chief Officer for Health Patrick Nyagah said many of the reported cases were unverified and some involved patients who had already been brought in dead at referral facilities.
Governor Kimani Wamatangi dismissed accusations that his administration had neglected the health sector, saying political opponents were using the crisis to create panic. He insisted that only a fraction of the county’s medical workforce had downed tools.
The strike had attracted national attention, with some Members of Parliament urging the transfer of Kiambu’s health functions to the national government. Civil society groups also threatened to seek the county’s dissolution if the stalemate persisted beyond seven days.
With the new agreement in place, KMPDU expressed confidence that normal operations will resume across all hospitals in Kiambu from Monday, marking the end of one of the longest doctors’ strikes in the county’s history.
