This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
On June 23, 2020, Dr. Agnes Gachoki and Dr. Gor Goody testified before a Senate select committee at County Hall in Nairobi, expressing their frustrations with Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru's handling of the healthcare crisis in the county.
According to Dr. Gachoki, the governor ordered the closure of 20 dispensaries and sacked 400 casual health workers, triggering industrial action by nurses and doctors.
Dr. Gachoki, a former Kirinyaga Health Executive, resigned after she was allegedly ordered to shut down the deplorable dispensaries. She claimed that the governor's actions were a step backwards for Universal Healthcare (UHC) championed by the president.
Dr. Gachoki also informed the committee that the procurement of a new healthcare management system, authorized by Waiguru, was not warranted as there was an existing one installed by the national government but not activated.
Dr. Gor Goody, the secretary for Central region of the Kenya Practitioners Medical and Dentists Union (KPMDU), testified that the healthcare system in Kirinyaga has been in a deplorable condition since 2017, when the governor was elected.
She recalled how at one point the governor called security officers to teargas health workers who sought audience with her over welfare matters.
The impeachment of the governor was the last option, according to Mutira MCA David Kinyua, who sponsored the Motion.
