KMPDU boss reveals how Duale won doctors’ trust despite initial rejection
Aden Duale’s move to the Ministry of Health was marred by opposition from some officials in the sector, with a section arguing that he would politicise the country’s most critical function.
With over three months down the line, Duale is proving some critics wrong with how he has handled the Health Ministry, which launched the Social Health Insurance to replace the now defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Speaking on Saturday, May 10, 2025, the Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Dr. Davji Atellah, confirmed the earlier concerns that were raised by different medical practitioners.
Specifically, Atellah indicated that during one of the central branch meetings, members wondered if Duale could comprehend and help actualise their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
However, Atellah, who spoke during the KMPDU delegates conference in Mombasa, indicated that Duale proved everyone wrong with his firm understanding of the CBA.
The secretary general went on to praise Duale, insisting that he had played a critical role in averting strikes and was committed to giving doctors and interns their deserved wages.
“Last year when we had the delegates conference, we were saying Nakhumicha must go, but today in our new delegates conference, we are saying Duale must come,” Atellah said amid laughter from some of the members.
“When he was appointed, we had a new former minister who was a doctor, so when he came in, we were worried if he would have an understanding of our issues. I remember during the central branch annual meeting, we said that the new CS is a politician, and we are not ready to have health care being politicised,” he added.
“But when we met the CS on the issues that were affecting us, he really to seemed to have read the CBA,” Atellah emphasised.
Duale’s response
Responding to Atellah’s sentiments, Duale reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza administration was keen to honour the CBA.
Duale argued that proper enumeration of doctors and other medical practitioners was key to boosting the country’s healthcare.
“The government has reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to fully implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with KMPDU, recognizing that the well-being of healthcare workers is central to the delivery of quality health services,” Duale wrote on X.
Duale is the third Cabinet Secretary to be appointed at the Ministry in less than two and a half years of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He took over from Dr. Deborah Barasa, who was appointed CS in August 2024.
Barasa took over from Susan Nakhumicha, who served as Health Cabinet Secretary from 2022.
