IG Koome to striking doctors: I won't sit back as you lie on highways

The Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome has warned doctors and clinical officers against disrupting peace as they demonstrate in their ongoing strike.

Medics downed their tools on March 14 and have been protesting the government’s failure to post medical interns and obey a 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on doctors’ labour terms.

The police boss has however dismissed their protests as an inconvenience to the public, saying the protests have obstructed traffic flow on roads.

He has even claimed that doctors have been taking to the streets without notifying police officers in advance as required by the law, something the medics have denied.

In a Wednesday interview with KTN News, Koome maintained that he will not sit back as doctors disrupt regular activities in hospitals and on the roads.

“I released a press statement telling doctors not to break the law. You continue lying on the highways, disrupting operations in hospitals, as the IG, I can’t just sit back,” he said.

Koome claimed he has intelligence that some striking doctors have been intimidating those who want to continue working.

“Doctors who want to assist our patients cannot discharge their duty because we have other people who do not care at all. Doctors are free to picket, but the constitution says that they must be peaceful. If there is a breach of peace and they infringe on the rights of others,” said Koome.

“As the IG, I cannot allow that to happen.”

As the doctors' strike entered the 36th day on Thursday, Koome accused medics of ulterior motives for the strike, saying “There is a hidden agenda; why would you allow fellow citizens to continue dying in hospitals?”

Nine civil society organisations have sued the police IG for denying medical practitioners the right to strike after he on Sunday directed police to deal with doctors, whom he labelled a public nuisance, firmly and decisively.

The organizations include the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Katiba Institute, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya), Transparency International Kenya, The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), The Africa Centre for Civil Governance, Siasa Place, Tribeless Youth, and Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI).

In the meantime, the Employment and Labour Relations Court has extended orders suspending the protracted doctors' strike in a bid to pave the way for further negotiations.

Talks between KMPDU and the Health Ministry over the last month have proven unfruitful, as doctors have accused the government of non-compliance with the court's directives, intimidation and a refusal to adjust their stance.

The government has presented a Ksh.70,000 offer for the medical interns in place of the Ksh.206,000 set in the 2017 CBA.