KMPDU boss Atellah slams CS Barasa, warns of looming intern doctors' strike

The Kenya Medical Pharmacists, Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah has lashed out at Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa over her recent remarks on intern doctors’ wages.

Dr. Atellah was responding to a video of CS Barasa speaking during Health Summit 2025 held on Monday at the Deputy President’s official residence in Karen.

CS Barasa, in the video, could be heard saying that the new cohort of intern doctors will be paid a Ksh.70,000 monthly salary, as opposed to the Ksh.206,000 as stipulated in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

“During our meeting in November/December, we talked about Ksh.206,000, but for the new cohort we’re talking about Ksh.70,000, and so negotiations will start to ensure that this is implemented,” the Health CS says in the video.

The Ksh.70,000 pay occasioned a longlasting nationwide strike by intern doctors last year, causing a crisis in the health sector.

Dr. Atellah, while slamming CS Barasa, warned of a potential return to the streets if the Ksh.206,000 pay which was agreed on to end the strike in December last year is not honoured.

“Anytime you touch our salaries, you are inadvertently giving yourselves a strike notice as the government.@DeboraBarasa Consider it served,” stated the KMPDU boss in a statement on X.

“Interns, let us meet on the 20th of February 2025. When you call for action we respond swiftly!”

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on December 19, 2024 oversaw the signing of an agreement between doctors and the Ministry of Health that saw the nationwide strike initially set for December 22, 2024 effectively called off.

The agreement, which was also signed by the Council of Governors (CoG), was set to see intern doctors paid a salary of Ksh.206,000 in accordance with the CBA signed between the government and KMPDU in 2017.