NAIROBI Kenya April 14 – The Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome has termed demonstrations by doctors and clinical officers as an inconvenience to the public, and warned that police with them firmly and decisively.
The police boss on Sunday April 14 said the medics have engaged in the demonstrations without notifying police officers, and have been obstructing highways, public roads and disrupting free flow of vehicles and movement of people during their demonstrations.
“In the interest of national security therefore, all respective Police Commanders have been instructed to deal with such situations firmly and decisively in accordance with the law,” the IG said adding they had become a public nuisance and were causing discomfort to patients in hospitals and general public.
The police boss, who was commenting for the first time to the month-long strike, also warned that non-medics who have intentions of causing havoc to the public were also intending to join the ongoing demonstrations.
“We wish to caution all doctors to refrain from infringing on the rights of others while demonstrating, and that their efforts to disrupt smooth operations of hospitals will not be tolerated,” Koome said.
The KMPDU, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Katiba Institute (KI), The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), Africa Centre for Open Governance (AFRICOG), Tribeless Youth, and Siasa Place however on Sunday demanded for retraction of the directive by the IG.
Through their lawyer Advocate Ochiel J Dudley, they maintained that no constitutional Article conditions the right to strike or to picket on a notice given to the IG.
“You cannot do that. You are under; not above, the Constitution. We thus demand that you retract the directive and apologise for it publicly,” they said.
“In your retraction, you must also apologise for the violent attack by police on Dr Davji Atela on 27 February 2024,” they added.
The institutions threatened to initiate court proceedings against the IG.
“Based on the doctrine of command responsibility, we will seek orders holding you personally liable for harm caused by the police to the striking and picketing medics,” they added.
The medics have been taking to the streets for a month now to demand the posting of interns and implementation of other agreements in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Clinical officers are on their second week of the strike, making similar demands.
Led by their unions, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), the medics have vowed not to relent until the government meets their demands.
Efforts by the government, through the Ministry of Health and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, to negotiate a return to work formula with medics have not been successful.
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