Governor Muriithi risks 6 months’ jail term for contempt of court

Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi risks being jailed for six months and barred from seeking an elective post for failing to obey court orders of reinstating doctors he allegedly sacked, Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary-General Dr Davji Atellah has said.

Speaking to the press in Nanyuki town, Dr Atellah said the county doctors were sacked illegally and they had tried engaging Muriithi’s administration to have doctors reinstated which had since failed.

“Today marks 36 months since we in Laikipia are having doctors’ strike for illegal dismissal and we have tried engaging the county government in different forums so that we can end the suffering of the wananchi. We have not left any stone unturned,” said Dr Atellah, adding they have contempt proceedings against the county boss for failing to honour court orders of reinstating the health professional as ruled on August 19, 2020, by the Labour Relations Court.

The Secretary-General revealed that Muriithi had failed to respect President Uhuru Kenyatta who had reached out to him over the 2020 health strike in the region but he failed to comply.

 He further said the county governor had also failed to honour the trade union movement which had attempted to reach him on several occasions in a bid to end the health snarl-up by reinstating the doctors.

“As a union, we will not shy off and we will continue to press on to ensure that the rights of those doctors who have suffered for this period are respected and the rights of the wananchi who failed to receive services are restored,” said the secretary-general.

“We will ensure Chapter Six of the Constitution which talks of the code of conduct is applied. All the suffering we are seeing in Laikipia is due to the inaction of the governor making it impossible to have the dialogue,” vowed Dr Atellah.

Sixty-one medics were fired in 2019 by the devolved unit for participating in a strike while demanding a salary increase and promotions.

Out of 61 medics sacked, 34 were reinstated by the Public Service Commission which further directed Muriithi’s administration to pay them their salaries arrears from 2019, orders which have not been complied with to date according to Dr Atellah.

“We stand for the rights of health care workers and the right to health that has been denied to the people of Laikipia for some time. I believe the governor does not respect the rights of wananchi of Laikipia and this is because the wananchi reached out to the union in 2019 and asked for negotiation which the governor failed to comply with,” decried Dr. Atellah.