Ruto urges Wamatangi to sign agreement to allow equipping of Kiambu hospitals
By Nancy Marende, August 10, 2025President William Ruto has called on Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi to sign an intergovernmental partnership agreement that will pave the way for the equipping of county hospitals with modern medical facilities.
Speaking during a service in Limuru, Kiambu County, on Sunday, August 10, 2025, Ruto said the national government rolled out a programme to supply all 47 counties with advanced medical equipment, including MRI machines, CT scanners, and other laboratory tools.
“What I would like to urge Governor Wamatangi is that we have a programme to equip hospitals in all the 47 counties with MRI, CT scans, and other laboratory equipment. What is required is for a county to have an intergovernmental partnership agreement,” he stated.
He noted that only two counties, including Kiambu, are yet to sign the agreement, saying the programme aims at strengthening healthcare infrastructure and improving access to specialised diagnostic services across the country.
“Only two counties have not signed the agreement. So I am urging, for this equipment to reach the hospitals in Kiambu, that we sign that agreement so we help you equip all the facilities in the county.”
Hospital closure
This comes a few days after the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) demanded the immediate shutdown of 13 hospitals in Kiambu County, citing a worsening healthcare crisis as the doctors’ strike in the devolved unit enters its 71st day.
In a letter addressed to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the CEO of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), David Kariuki, on August 5, 2025, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah warned that patient lives are at “imminent risk” due to the absence of qualified consultants in key health facilities.
According to Atellah, intern doctors in these hospitals are also unable to undergo the mandatory assessments critical for their training, while newly hired contract doctors say they cannot function effectively under the current conditions.
“This has compromised the quality of care and placed the lives of patients at imminent risk,” the doctors’ union boss told CS Duale and Kariuki.
The union is now calling on the Health Ministry and KMPDC to act “urgently and decisively” to safeguard both patient welfare and the standards of medical training in the country.
The hospitals that KMPDU wants closed are Kiambu Level V, Thika Level V, Gatundu Level V, Tigoni Level IV, Ruiru Level IV, Igegania Level IV, and Kihara Level IV.
The others are Luseggeti Level IV, Karuri Level IV, Gachororo Level IV, Githunguri Level IV, Wangige Level IV, and Lari Level IV.