Medics union threatens to withdraw services after attack in Kitengela hospital

The Kenyan National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) has condemned “barbaric and senseless” attack on its members working at the Kitengela Sub-County Hospital, which was invaded by goons during Saba Saba protests on Monday. 

The union has demanded the arrest and prosecution of suspects and threatened to withdraw services from health facilities if the state fails to guarantee the security of health workers while on duty.

Further, they have warned the public against targeting medics and patients in their quest to air grievances to the government.

“Attacking a hospital is an act of self-destruction. When you attack a hospital, you are not only attacking the government or some perceived enemy, you are attacking the very lifeline that your own family, your children, and your parents will run to when life hangs in the balance,” said Pius Nyakundi, KNUMLO Secretary General.

“This is not merely ignorance — this is primitive lawlessness of the worst order. It is reckless, cowardly, and utterly deplorable,” Pius added.

The charged goons reportedly descended on the hospital and stormed into a theatre where a mother was delivering through a Cesarean Section procedure, putting the mother and the child at risk.

The men, estimated to have been in the hundreds, also entered the wards and roughed up helpless patients and medics attending them.

The laboratory officers have vowed to act to protect members from violent acts, including harassment, as they accused the government of inaction.

“If those responsible for this heinous act are not brought to justice, and if immediate, tangible measures are not taken to assure us of our safety, we shall mobilise and withdraw our members from such high-risk areas,” Nyakundi warned.

Several other medics unions have condemned the alarming incident and called on the state to assure patients and health workers of safety at the affected hospital and other facilities nationwide.

Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (KOGS) and the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) have criticised the attack.