Most Kenyans blame CS Nakhumicha for prolonged doctors’ strike – TIFA

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha is the most faulted for the ongoing doctors’ strike, a report by TIFA shows.

According to the report released today, 47 per cent of Kenyans believe that Nakhumicha is the most responsible for the prolonged medical workers’ strike than any other official despite her recent excuse that the lack of funds in the treasury was preventing the government from meeting the medics’ demands.

“Significantly, it is the CS for Health who attracts more blame than any other official or entity for the medical workers’ industrial action, even though (as she and others have said) it is the “lack of sufficient funds in Treasury” that has supposedly made it impossible for most of the medics’ demands to be met,” the report reads in parts.

In the polls conducted between April 27 and Apil 29, 2024, 28 percent of Kenyans blame Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) as the most responsible for the strike whereas 8 percent blamed respective county governments.

5 percent of respondents blamed the Salary Remuneration Commission (SRC), whereas 1 percent blamed the Council of Governors (CoG) and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.

“Likewise, there is no mention of the leadership of the previous (Jubilee) administration that was a party to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) the failure of which to implement was the main/initial basis for the first of the several strikes now in place,” the report added.

The data collected from 2,912 respondents across 9 zones including Central Rift, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift and the Western region, was conducted via telephone with respondents whose contacts were collected face to face.