Doctors in Kiambu County have called off their 151-day strike after the county government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) signed a return-to-work agreement on Friday, October 24, 2025. The industrial action, which began on May 26, 2025, had paralysed health services across the county, forcing residents to seek costly alternatives at private facilities.

The deal was brokered following a high-stakes consultative meeting at the Council of Governors (CoG) headquarters in Nairobi, chaired by Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, who heads the CoG's Health Committee. Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and KMPDU Secretary-General Dr. Davji Atellah led their respective delegations.

Key Terms of the Agreement

Under the signed return-to-work formula, the Kiambu County Government has committed to addressing the core grievances that led to one of the longest medical strikes in recent Kenyan history. The key provisions of the agreement include:

• Payment of Withheld Salaries: The county will immediately pay doctors their salaries for October, along with one month's salary for the strike period (June). The outstanding arrears for July, August, and September will be settled in the 2026/2027 financial year.
• Promotions and Career Progression: The county has agreed to implement all pending promotions for doctors within six weeks of the agreement. This was a major point of contention, with the union citing a lack of career progression as a key issue.
• Timely Remittances: Governor Wamatangi's administration committed to ensuring the timely payment of salaries and remittance of all statutory deductions, including union dues, by the 9th of every month to prevent future disputes.
• No Victimisation: The agreement includes a clause guaranteeing that no doctor who participated in the strike will face any form of disciplinary action or victimisation from the employer.

KMPDU Secretary-General Dr. Davji Atellah announced the official end of the strike during a press briefing on Friday evening, EAT. "The strike that began on May 26, 2025, that has now gone for over 150 days, is hereby called off," he stated, urging all doctors to report to their workstations by 8:00 AM EAT on Monday, October 27, 2025.

Impact on Healthcare and Path to Resolution

The five-month strike had a severe impact on public healthcare in Kiambu, Kenya's second-most populous county. Many public hospitals were left operating at minimal capacity, forcing patients to either forgo treatment or incur significant expenses at private hospitals. The situation became a national concern, prompting KMPDU to petition Parliament on October 14, seeking legislative intervention and threatening a nationwide strike if the impasse was not resolved.

During the strike, the county government maintained that services were still available, stating it had hired 90 new doctors and 200 nurses to mitigate the impact. However, KMPDU and various community groups disputed these claims, highlighting the immense suffering of residents. The prolonged standoff also led to the Ministry of Health redeploying nearly 700 medical interns from the county in September to safeguard their training schedules.

The breakthrough came after intense mediation led by the Council of Governors, which facilitated dialogue after previous conciliation efforts failed. Governor Wamatangi reaffirmed his administration's commitment to implementing the agreement fully. The return-to-work formula will be filed in court and adopted as a court order to ensure its enforceability.

The resolution averts a potential nationwide health crisis, as KMPDU had threatened to issue a national strike notice on Saturday, October 25, in solidarity with their Kiambu colleagues. The focus now shifts to the full implementation of the agreement and the restoration of normalcy to Kiambu's public health sector.