Kenyan doctors defy threat of jail, vow to continue strike

The seven-day strike action embarked upon by Kenyan doctors will continue according to doctors union until the government meet demands for better pay and even better working conditions.

Reports say the strike by the aggrieved doctors which started on the 5th of December is going ahead despite a court ruling ordering the striking doctors to make a return to work in five days or face jail term.

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According to reports, the strike has crippled activities in most Kenyan hospitals with emptied hospital beds as relatives take patients to care for them at home as the action poses a challenge for the government in an election year, more so as it seeks to prevent other state workers taking action for higher pay.

Several thousand doctors and their supporters marched from the court to the centre of Nairobi where leaders of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU) refused the time limit imposed by the court.

“The doctors are on strike and the strike will continue until that day their demands placed before the government is met,” Ouma Oluga, KMPDU secretary general, told reporters.

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