The father of one of the arrested Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KPMDU) officials has expressed happiness that his daughter was arrested for fighting for improved medical services in the country.
Nelson Korir, the father of Dr. Daisy Korir, one of the 7 KPMDU officials arrested on Monday, February 13, stated that he would have been sad if his daughter had been jailed for corruption or theft, rather than for standing up for the rights of millions of Kenyans.
Background ¶
The KPMDU officials were arrested and sentenced to one month in jail for contempt of court after failing to end the 71-day strike that has crippled the Kenyan health sector. Judge Hellen Wasilwa handed down the sentence.
The strike is a result of the union's demands for the adoption of a 2013 Collective Bargain Agreement (CBA), which includes a review of doctors' salaries, measures for promotions, fair working hours, and improvements to their working environment and equipment.
Response and Consequences ¶
The government has stated that implementing the CBA would be too expensive and has instead offered a KSh 4 billion deal, which the doctors have rejected. They are demanding a 300% pay rise among other conditions before returning to work.
Following the sentencing, hundreds of doctors gathered at Railways Club in Nairobi for a night vigil to protest the sentencing, which was disrupted by General Service Unit officers.
„I am not worried when my daughter is jailed for fighting for improved medical service in the country, all for the benefit of the poor millions," „I would have been sad if she has been jailed for stealing medicine from public hospitals, OR importing 100 20-foot containers at KSh 300,000 and charging the public coffers KSh 10 million for each,"
Nelson Korir wrote on social media, expressing his support for his daughter's actions.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
