MARSABIT, Kenya — Healthcare services in Marsabit County have ground to a halt as clinical officers entered their fourth week of strike, protesting unpaid salaries, lack of medical cover, and unfulfilled employment promises, leaving patients in dire need and health facilities nearly deserted.
At the Marsabit Referral Hospital, wards once bustling with activity now sit in eerie silence — not because the sick have recovered, but because the very medics meant to heal them are struggling for survival themselves.
Speaking to journalists in Marsabit town on Thursday, Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) Marsabit Branch Chairperson Abdishukri Adan said the officers had gone three months without pay, while their statutory deductions remain unremitted for over 20 months.
“We have endured enough. We suspended an earlier strike after signing a return-to-work agreement, but the county government has consistently failed to honour its word,” Adan said.
He added that the strike, which has crippled healthcare delivery across the vast county, is not politically driven but a desperate plea for dignity and fairness.
The medics are demanding the implementation of career progression guidelines, promotions, and re-designations — all commitments contained in two previous agreements with the County Government of Marsabit, the latest signed in April 2025.
KUCO Marsabit Secretary Daki Duba lamented that the agreements, including one inked in July 2024, have remained empty promises.
“We signed two agreements in good faith, but the county government has reneged on both. We will not sign another one until every demand is met. Enough is enough,” Duba declared.
He said the union has lost all confidence in the county’s leadership, accusing it of betraying healthcare workers and violating basic labour rights.
KUCO Treasurer Shukri Ibrahim shared the heartbreaking story of a colleague battling stage four cancer at Garissa County Referral Hospital, who has gone unpaid since August and is surviving on contributions from fellow clinicians.
“He has no salary, no medical cover, and depends entirely on fundraisers to afford treatment. Another colleague in Laisamis is battling tuberculosis with no access to medication. The situation is inhumane,” he said.
The strike has worsened an already fragile health system, with drug shortages, closed dispensaries, and overwhelmed private facilities pushing residents to desperation.
Community leaders have warned that unless the county acts swiftly, Marsabit’s public health system risks total collapse.
The medics are now appealing directly to Governor Mohamud Ali to personally intervene, honour the return-to-work deal, and restore trust between workers and the county administration.
“We are not asking for new privileges,” Adan stressed. “We just want what was promised — our pay, our dignity, and a functioning healthcare system.”
As the strike drags on, thousands of residents in remote areas remain without access to essential health services — a grim reflection of how broken promises at the top are costing lives at the grassroots.
