A health workers’ strike in Machakos County has spiraled into a full-blown healthcare crisis, with striking nurses now signalling readiness to return to work after Governor Wavinya Ndeti announced plans to hire 500 replacements.
A spot check by Nation revealed that patients in several county hospitals were left unattended, forcing many to seek treatment in neighbouring Kajiado, Kiambu, Kitui, Makueni and Nairobi counties.
Ms Ndeti has directed the Department of Health to recruit 500 nurses to plug the shortage caused by the strike called by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) to demand better pay and improved working conditions.
The strike, which entered its 11th day on Wednesday, has crippled healthcare services across the county’s public hospitals.
“The Department of Health is hereby directed to initiate the process of hiring 500 nurses and escalate the same to the County Public Service Board,” Ms Ndeti told reporters at her office.
She also instructed the Machakos County Public Service Board to suspend monthly remittances to Knun, citing a complaint of financial impropriety from one of the union officials.
In a swift rejoinder, Machakos Knun officials dismissed her threats and urged the governor to address their grievances instead of issuing ultimatums.
“As a union, we are ready to engage the county government to end the suffering of our people. The threats of dismissing our members are unconstitutional,” said Michael Saka, secretary-general of the Machakos County Knun chapter.
“Nurses will only end the strike if their grievances are addressed,” added Hesbon Mwakavi, the chapter chairman.
This is the second nurses’ strike in Machakos within a year. Knun has accused Ms Ndeti of failing to honour a return-to-work formula she committed to a year ago.
At the centre of the stalemate is a 2017 collective bargaining agreement signed between Knun and then-Governor Alfred Mutua. “The government does not even want to review the agreement, let alone implement it,” Mr Saka said.
But Ms Ndeti has maintained that the nurses’ demands are unrealistic, citing financial constraints.
“The revenue generated by the Department of Health contributes 5.78 percent to the county resource envelope while taking up 42 percent of the total budget,” she said, defending her administration’s efforts to improve medics’ welfare despite financial hurdles.
She blamed the delays in Treasury disbursements to counties, noting that her administration has had to rely on alternative financial arrangements. “The net pay arrangements may not be optimal, but they cushion staff when the exchequer delays remittances. We are engaging our financial partners to support gross pay arrangements in future,” she said.
Governor Ndeti further highlighted efforts by her administration to boost the health workforce. “In 2025, we employed and deployed 183 additional nurses across the county. Between February and May 2025, 231 nurses across all cadres were promoted,” she said.
Meanwhile, the strike has sparked a full-blown healthcare crisis. A spot check by Nation revealed that patients in several county hospitals were left unattended, forcing many to seek treatment in neighbouring Kajiado, Kiambu, Kitui, Makueni and Nairobi counties.
Appealing to the striking nurses, Ms Ndeti said: “We urge union leaders to recognize the tremendous gains made in Machakos over the past two years. We have dignity and values to uphold, and saving lives remains our foremost commitment.”
