The vocal secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Nurses, Mr Seth Panyako , is no stranger to controversy.
Mr Panyako has had countless run-ins with the government in his role as a union official championing the rights of nurses, often speaking out against injustice and corruption at both the national and county levels.
Mr Panyako is not afraid to speak out on issues affecting health workers, and more recently, he has been vocal on the political scene as a UDA party official and ally of President William Ruto from Western region.
During media briefings, Mr Panyako usually walks the stage with authority. His statements are usually loaded and he will gesticulate before delivering the killer punch.
In 2020, for example, Mr Panyako called on nurses across the country to down their tools and paralyse services in health facilities after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission said the government could not meet nurses' salary demands because it could not afford to.
In his characteristic style, Mr Panyako took on the government, saying that nurses were being taken for a ride. He issued an ultimatum to the government to ensure that the nurses were paid their allowances.
Mr Panyako said: "The strike is on. We are ready to fight by all means to get what is rightfully ours. We don't care where they get the money from, but the nurses will not go back to work until they are paid their allowances."
Mr Panyako has perfected the art of raising his voice when addressing media briefings, perhaps for effect, but the whole scene ends up being theatrical.
The 38-year-old trade unionist said he had been offered a job as a Cabinet Secretary in the Kenya Kwanza administration, but turned it down.
"My job as the secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Nurses is bigger than that of the CS. I would have accepted to serve as CS because I'm entitled to 30 workers in my office and I have serious responsibilities as a trade unionist. I cannot, therefore, stoop so low as to serve in a junior position in government," said Mr Panyako.
In August last year, the abrasive unionist was the UDA candidate for the Malava parliamentary seat, but lost to ANC’s Malulu Injendi. Mr Panyako filed a petition to challenge Mr Injendi's victory, but the defeated candidate is said to have been angered by his failure to secure a key government appointment.
Surprised to be sidelined
He complained that he had campaigned aggressively to ensure that President Ruto won in Malava but was surprised to be sidelined by the UDA party.
On Tuesday, Mr Panyako convened a media briefing in Kakamega and accused top government officials of interfering in the affairs of the Lapfund pension scheme, leading to the resignation of its chairman, Mr Amin Deddy Mohamed Ali.
Mr Panyako is a member of Lapfund's board and claimed that senior government officials were pulling the strings behind the scenes and interfering with the board's decision to appoint the organisation's acting CEO.
Then, without warning, Mr Panyako dropped the names of senior government officials he accused of plotting to interfere with the fund.
"This is state capture of the fund. The acting CEO of Lapfund was removed after he failed to pay Sh20 million to a senior rgovernment official to serve in the interim ... I'm telling the government of President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua to stop state capture in government parastatals," said Mr Panyako.
Before the storm from the torrent of accusations he had unleashed had died down, Mr Panyako followed up with another bombshell.
"I am not afraid to tell the President and his deputy... if they want, they can come and get me ... I am not afraid to die because I will be on the right side of history ... this government talked about state capture (during campaigns) and what is happening now is worse," said Mr Panyako.
His attack on the government comes three days after he announced at a funeral in Kakamega County on Saturday that he had resigned from UDA.
Mr Panyako said he had decided to quit UDA because the Kenya Kwanza administration had reneged on its promises to reduce the cost of basic commodities and had instead imposed a 3 per cent deduction for the housing fund on Kenyans.
On Tuesday, Mr Panyako said a senior UDA party member had called him at 7pm last Friday and asked him to resign from the party for criticising the fund.
"The President is still my friend and in 2027 I will still consider whether it's tenable to support him, but for now it's not tenable. I was never given the opportunity to appear before the UDA disciplinary committee to defend myself before being asked to resign," said Mr Panyako.
As he struggles to find his political footing following his expulsion from the UDA, Mr Panyako has announced plans to launch what he calls the ‘Party-Less People Movement’.
He said political parties had been hijacked by influential politicians who ran them like personal businesses and it was a waste of time to belong to a party that did not practise democracy.
“I want to create an alternative platform for ordinary Kenyans because political parties have been hijacked by the rich and influential who serve their interests,” said Mr Panyako.
