The Kenya government has sacked the Acting General Secretary of a medical practitioner and doctors union, Chibanzi Mwachonda, and 85 other doctors.
Reports from the East African country say Mwachonda, the boss of Kenya Medical Practitioners and Doctors Union (KMPDU), and 85 other senior specialists were sacked by the Mombasa County government.
County Executive, Jeizen Faruk, claimed the doctors were fired for acts of gross misconduct.
A letter, signed by Faruk, ordered the doctors to surrender all the property belonging to the county government to their superiors.
“Following the correspondences shared between the Department of Health and the County Public Service Board on doctors’ strike, the board pursuant to Section 59 (1) (c) of the County Government Act number 17 of 2012, hereby conveys its decision via the special board meeting held on January 5 2021 that all doctors who have failed and/ or neglected to return to work be dismissed from county service as provided for under Section 44 (4) (a), (c) and (e) of the Employment Act 2007,” Faruk’s letter read.
The doctors received their dismissal letters via emails sent to them by the County Health Department.
“Kindly ensure the above doctors receive their letters and immediately hand over all properties belonging to the county government to their supervisors,” the dismissal letter further read.
On December 2, 2020, Kenyan doctors went on strike over poor remuneration and working conditions. They had demanded to be issued protective gears as they handle Covid-19 patients.
Dozens of medics have died after contracting the virus.
The doctors, however, termed their sacking as illegal and vowed to move to court to challenge their dismissal.