This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
June 24, 2020, marked a day of intense scrutiny for Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru as she faced impeachment charges before a special Senate Committee.
During the hearing, Dr. Gor Goody, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary, Central Region, testified that Kirinyaga County's healthcare system is in shambles, with Governor Waiguru failing to address the issue.
Dr. Goody shared a disturbing incident at Kimbimbi Sub-County Hospital, where a doctor had to stop operating on a patient to kill a snake that had slithered into the surgical theater.
"We have a letter from the Kirinyaga Public Health Officer who wrote to the Governor informing her that dispensaries are dilapidated, the grass is at the level of the hip, where pests and even snakes are roaming around in the hospital," Dr. Goody said.
He further highlighted the alarming doctor-patient ratio in Kirinyaga County, which stands at 1:30,000, and the delayed salaries of health workers.
"One doctor in Kirinyaga is working for over 30,000 patients and still salaries don’t come in time, they have not been promoted in 10 years and are not taken for specialised studies… Three doctors went for post-graduate studies but they were unprocedurally fired," Dr. Goody stated.
Despite these allegations, Governor Waiguru has denied any wrongdoing, terming her impeachment as unfortunate and the allegations of abuse of office and graft as salacious and malicious.
She claimed that her ouster was instigated by people keen on settling political scores.
