This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
On August 13, 2019, patients at the Meru Level Five Hospital were left stranded as county government workers began their strike. The strike was a result of a standoff between the National Assembly and the Senate over the Division of Revenue Bill, 2019, which had caused a delay in payment of county workers' July salaries.
Patients who had traveled long distances were either turned away or spent hours queuing for treatment. The strike had been called by the Kenya County Government Workers Union, which vowed to disrupt normal operations in the counties until its members were paid in full.
At the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru town, Ruth Nyambura, 82, was forced to return home unattended after arriving at 6am to see a specialist. She had traveled from Munanda village in Subukia sub-county.
Similar scenes were reported in Taita Taveta County, where hundreds of county government workers walked out of their offices and stormed the governor's offices to demand their July salaries. In Elgeyo Marakwet county, union and workers stormed Governor Alex Tolgos' office demanding to be paid their salaries.
Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) secretary, Elgeyo Marakwet chapter Benson Biwott said the workers would picket outside the governor's office until they were paid.
