Raila Odinga Asks Ruto To Resolve Doctors' Strike Stalemate: "Moving From Bad To Worse"

• ODM leader Raila Odinga warned that the ongoing strike by doctors could soon degenerate into a crisis
• The opposition leader asked President William Ruto's government to reinstate the KSh 206,000 pay for interns until the next CBA negotiation
• Raila expressed confidence that the medics would call off the strike if the government met half of their demands

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi - Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga has called on President William Ruto to address the doctors' concerns with urgency.

Raila Odinga: How doctors's strike can be resolved

Addressing the press on Thursday, April 11, the ODM leader said the ongoing doctors' strike was causing untold suffering to Kenyans.

The opposition chief warned that the crisis in the health sector would worsen if other cadres, like clinical officers, joined the strike.

"We are of the view that the situation is moving from bad to worse, and soon, we will have a full-blown crisis in which all health workers will down their tools. Already, clinical officers have joined," Raila said.

The former prime minister called on both the government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) to find a compromise solution to avert further suffering for Kenyans.

He excluded confidence that the medics would call off the strike if the government met half of their demands.

The opposition leader appealed to the government to reinstate the KSh 206,000 pay for interns until the next CBA negotiation.

"After very wide consultations, I am convinced that the doctors and all other health workers currently on strike will be able to craft a return-to-work formula and resume duty if the government were to meet their demands halfway while negotiations continue," he said.

Why Kithure Kindiki banned protests by KMPDU

Meanwhile, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki banned ongoing demonstrations by KMPDU doctors.

Kindiki argued that the doctors were engaging in illegality, arguing that the Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered the parties in the ongoing industrial dispute in the health sector to engage in conciliation and negotiation proceedings within 14 days.

What you need to know about doctors' strike

• The doctors refused to take the KSh 2.4 billion offer by the government for the payment of medical interns
• President William Ruto asked striking doctors to call off the strike saying the government had no money to pay them
• Clinical officers also downed their tools after the government failed to resolve their grievances.
• Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba expressed dissatisfaction with the Kenya Kwanza government.