NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 24 — The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has called off the four-month strike by doctors in Kiambu County in a deal mediated by the Council of Governors (CoG).
The settlement includes the immediate payment of October salaries and one month of withheld arrears.
The agreement, announced Friday afternoon at the CoG headquarters in Westlands, followed a high-stakes consultative meeting chaired by Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, the Council Whip, and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, Chairperson of CoG Health Committee.
Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and KMPDU Secretary-General Dr. Davji Atellah led the delegations from their respective sides.
Under the agreement, the County Government of Kiambu will pay one month’s salary to striking doctors immediately upon resumption of duty, alongside their October salary.
Kiambu will settle the remaining three months’ arrears in the 2026/27 financial year, beginning July 1, 2026.
The deal also includes an undertaking by the county to immediately reinstate the deduction and remittance of union dues, and to ensure no victimization of any medical personnel who participated in the industrial action.
“It [was] agreed that there shall be no victimization whatsoever by the employer to the members who took part in the ongoing strike,” a joint statement announced.
151-day strike
The breakthrough ends a 151-day strike—one of the longest by county doctors in Kenya’s history—that had crippled operations in Kiambu’s public hospitals, strained emergency units, and triggered public outcry over alleged preventable deaths, including claims of 131 infant fatalities.
The stalemate had escalated into a national concern after KMPDU accused the county of breaching multiple employment laws, failing to remit insurance premiums, and ignoring court-directed conciliation efforts.
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The union had also petitioned Parliament on October 14 seeking legislative intervention and threatened a nationwide strike from October 25 if the impasse persisted.
Governor Wamatangi, while reaffirming his administration’s commitment to fully implementing the agreement, said Kiambu had already taken steps to stabilize service delivery during the strike by hiring 90 doctors and 200 nurses.
Dialogue over confrontation
Njuki and Nassir praised both parties for choosing dialogue over confrontation, urging other devolved units facing similar labour disputes to follow suit.
“As we conclude, we call upon County Governments and the Union to embrace dialogue to ensure that contentious issues are resolved at the soonest time possible so that service delivery in the health sector is uninterrupted,” CoG said.
Atellah, who confirmed the union had officially called off the strike, asked doctors to make arrangements and report to their respective workstations by 8am on Monday.
“We’ve resolved today that the monies for June will be paid alongside October salaries while the outstanding salaries for July, August and September will be clear in the next financial year,” he said.
The truce averted a potential nationwide health crisis with KMPDU having threated to issue a national strike notice on Saturday in solidarity with Kiambu doctors.
