Kenya: Court sentences doctors' union officials to jail

By Andrew Wasike and Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya

A Kenyan court Monday sentenced leaders of the Kenyan doctors’ union to a month in jail, seeking to stem an illegal nationwide strike that has lasted for over two months.

Employment and Labor Relations Court Justice Hellen Wasilwa said she reached the decision after seeing no progress made in negotiations between the union and the government even after she postponed the sentencing twice.

“The applicants have not called off the strike, which they themselves called,” Judge Wasilwa told the seven officials of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU).

She added, “Negotiations may proceed, the court of appeals can proceed and make any other determination, but you can now start serving your sentences.”

Thousands of doctors demonstrating outside the court issued a statement saying that until their leaders are released, they have suspended negotiations with the government to end the 74-day strike.

In a press statement, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said Kenyans are shocked by the jailing of the officials for their refusal to call off a “legitimate” strike.

“The jailing of union officials deepens it [the strike] and sets an extremely dangerous precedent. It marks out the government as a dishonest and unreliable employer whose word, even in writing, counts for nothing.”

The two-month strike has taken a toll on healthcare in Kenya, forcing thousands of Kenyans to seek treatment from expensive private hospitals.

Kenyan doctors are demanding a 300 percent pay rise under a 2013 collective bargaining agreement, raising the salary of the lowest-paid doctors to around $3,300.