Inside deal that ended Kiambu doctors’ 150-day strike
From left: Council of Governors CEO Mary Mwiti, KMPDU Secretary-General Davji Atellah and Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi on October 24, 2025.
Tension hung thick in the air on the 11th floor of Delta Corner Annex along Ring Road, Westlands, as Governor Kimani Wamatangi stormed out of the Council of Governors (CoG) boardroom on Friday morning, visibly infuriated, adjusting his tie and muttering to himself.
The high-stakes negotiations to end Kiambu County's crippling 150-day doctors' strike appeared to be collapsing. Dr Elias Maina, Kiambu County's CEC for Health, rushed out to check on his boss.
Moments later, Dr Davji Atellah, Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), walked out to an adjacent office in total silence, followed by Dr Bill Muriuki.
The talks were on the brink.
CoG had convened the meeting between KMPDU officials—led by Dr Atellah and flanked by Dr Muriuki and the KMPDU Kiambu County representative—and representatives from Kiambu County Government in a fresh effort to end the industrial action that has paralysed public health services in the devolved unit.
"We have come a long way in these negotiations. A return-to-work formula is almost in place. Kiambu County has asked KMPDU to drop all the court cases as a show of goodwill. That is now the biggest elephant in the room because KMPDU don't think their quest to hold county officials accountable should be part of the deal," a senior CoG official who was part of the negotiations but is not authorised to speak to the media disclosed to Nation.
The two parties had agreed on almost all issues—except one.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir speaks to the media in Mombasa on June 13, 2025.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir, who is also the CoG Health Committee chair, stepped outside to check on both parties.
"If you are expecting the headline to be that the talks have collapsed and that they did not agree, it will not happen on my watch. Kindly be patient with us. I guarantee you we will walk out of that boardroom with a deal that will end the stalemate for good because Kenyans seeking healthcare services have suffered in Kiambu for far too long, which is why this must end today," the governor told Nation before going back to the negotiating table.
He spoke privately to each team for about 15 minutes before re-joining Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, the CoG Whip, in the boardroom.
The talks resumed with Governor Nassir urging both parties to show goodwill in their "give and take", then put pen to paper.
As per the agreement between KMPDU and Kiambu County, the county government will pay one month's salary to striking doctors immediately upon resumption of duty, alongside their October salary.
A worker walking inside a deserted room at Kiambu County Hospital on April 8, 2024 as the doctors' strike continued.
Kiambu has assured KMPDU that it will settle the remaining three months' arrears in the 2026/27 financial year, beginning July 1, 2026.
The agreement also includes an undertaking by the county to immediately reinstate the deduction and remittance of union dues, and to ensure no victimisation of any medical personnel who participated in the industrial action.
"It [was] agreed that there shall be no victimisation whatsoever by the employer to the members who took part in the ongoing strike," their joint official statement highlighted.
Congratulating both parties, Governors Nassir and Njuki lauded them for choosing dialogue over confrontation.
"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," Governor Nassir urged.
Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union’s Secretary General, Dr Davji Atellah (centre), and other union officials address the media at St Luke Hospital in Eldoret City, Uasin Gishu County on July 23, 2025.
Dr Atellah officially called off the strike before asking doctors to report to their respective workstations by 8 am on Monday.
"We've resolved today that the monies for June will be paid alongside October salaries, whilst the outstanding salaries for July, August and September will be cleared in the next financial year," he assured them.
Last August, KMPDU officially wrote to the Director of Criminal Investigations asking for Kiambu's CEC for Health, Dr Maina, to be investigated and prosecuted over negligence after an 11-month-old baby died due to administrative negligence at Igegania Level 4 Hospital.
The nursing services manager at the health facility was informed by the County Call Centre that an ambulance could not leave Kiambu for Murang'a without Maina's preauthorisation.
As medics at Igegania Hospital worked to save Baby JM's life, Maina was unavailable on the phone and in his office, and as a result, the baby died.
His juniors say they were too scared to give an approval that would have saved the 11-month-old baby's life, lest they get into his bad books.
The official letter, referenced EXT/KMPDU/01/25 and dated August 18, 2025, stated that the infant JM died of pneumonia after county officials disregarded advice from the attending physician. A subsequent referral arrangement with Maragua Level IV Hospital was delayed pending intercounty ambulance approval as per an existing county government policy.
The matter will now "die a natural death" after KMPDU agreed to withdraw all official complaints and court cases it had filed against Kiambu County Government.
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