What began as a peaceful press briefing by striking doctors in Kwale turned into chaos and fear. On July 2, 2025, at Msambweni County Referral Hospital, doctors assembled to voice concerns over unpaid salaries and poor working conditions. But before they could speak to the media, a gang of armed goons stormed in. They rode in on motorcycles, some carrying clubs, and disrupted the gathering. Shockingly, police officers at the scene watched without lifting a finger. The message was loud and brutal—dissent will be punished. The Goons Disrupt Doctors' Strike incident at Msambweni County Referral Hospital is a wake-up call. It exposes the dangerous path that Kwale County — and perhaps Kenya as a whole—is heading down. Where violence replaces dialogue, and law enforcement becomes a spectator. [Photo: Courtesy] Goons Disrupt Doctors' Strike and Raise Alarm Over Safety of Medical Workers The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union ( KMPDU ) had called the press briefing to shed light on doctors’ suffering in Kwale County. Many hadn’t been paid in months. Others had been denied study leave and rightful promotions. Yet before any of this could be aired, unidentified goons violently broke up the event. “We were just standing outside the hospital when they came at us. We had done nothing provocative,” a union official said, still shaken. The gang, said to be acting on someone’s orders, locked the hospital gates and blocked doctors from re-entering the compound. With patients still inside, the thugs made the hospital grounds inaccessible — not just to the medical staff, but to anyone needing care.
Even more disturbing, the police did nothing. “There was a heavy police presence. But they just stood there and watched while we were attacked,” another doctor lamented. Kwale Doctors Blame County Government for Intimidation The incident triggered outrage across the healthcare community, with KMPDU leaders pointing fingers at the county government for orchestrating or tolerating the attack. “We would like to categorically condemn what we have seen today at Msambweni County Referral Hospital. We have been chased away by goons. KMPDU has never seen such hostility against doctors,” one doctor said. Union officials accused Kwale County of abandoning its health workers and patients by using threats instead of addressing the issues raised in their strike notice. The strike began on June 29 and was triggered by persistent salary delays, poor working conditions, denial of career advancement opportunities, and unresolved grievances despite repeated engagements.
KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah had earlier warned of a full withdrawal of services across the county if the government failed to meet doctors’ demands.
Instead of dialogue, the county seems to have chosen brute force. “This was not just an attack on doctors. It was an attack on the Constitution, on the right to protest, on healthcare itself,” said a senior KMPDU member. Use of Goons to Break Peaceful Assemblies Raises Bigger Questions The Msambweni incident is part of a growing trend. The use of goons to suppress peaceful protests is becoming normalized in Kenya. Just days before, on June 25, hired gangs infiltrated anti-finance bill protests across several towns, looting shops, attacking demonstrators, and destroying property.
Now, that same tactic has reached the doorsteps of hospitals — and doctors are the new target.
Legal experts and civil society organizations have expressed concern, warning that using violence to silence lawful dissent undermines democracy. “It is unacceptable that doctors, who dedicate their lives to saving others, should be treated like criminals when they ask for fair pay and better conditions,” said a Kwale-based human rights activist. Doctors are not political operatives. They are professionals demanding what they have earned. That goons can freely assault them while police look on is both chilling and shameful.
The Constitution guarantees every Kenyan the right to picket, to speak out, and to assemble peacefully. The doctors at Msambweni were doing exactly that. Instead of protection, they got intimidation—and no one is being held accountable.