NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 15 — The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has denounced a directive by Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome ordering firm action on medical professionals on strike after he termed their protests a nuisance.
LSK, in a rejoinder on Monday, termed Koome’s remarks as “reckless, irrational, and legally impotent”.
The bar association said Koome’s directive which it characterised as “ill-advised, distasteful and ludicrous” offends the expectation of a high duty of care to the public required of his office.
“It [was] made without considering the grave consequences of inflammatory comments and reckless, irrational, and legally impotent directives by a holder of one of Kenya’s top security offices,” LSK said on Koome’s Sunday statement.
“Therefore, should there be any instances of unreasonable force being meted against doctors during their strike, we shall take legal action against individual officers for perpetrating such acts of violence or arbitrary use of force,” Odhiambo forewarned.
LSK vowed to take legal action against the government within an unspecified timeframe over its handling of the nationwide strike by doctors and clinicians.
“We call on the Ministry of Health to cede the pedestal on which it has placed itself and engage Doctors in meaningful, goodwill negotiations to arrive at a fair, conclusive resolution of the dispute which threatens the lives and well-being of the people of Kenya,” LSK President Faith Odhiambo advised.
“Failure to do so, the Law Society undertakes to intervene by instituting appropriate legal proceedings in the Public Interest,” she noted.
Illegal strike
Koome’s remarks came days after the government urged striking doctors and clinicians to end the “illegal” strike and pursue dialogue.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore urged doctors to suspend the strike and negotiate with their employers: the Ministry of Health and the 47 county governments.
She called on the doctors to obey the Employment and Labor Relations Court orders, reiterating that the union must call off the strike and direct its members to return to work.
Bore insisted that the right to strike is not absolute.
“This matter has received attention at the highest level, and we should have faith in each other to resolve the matter once and for all. Once more I appeal to the doctors, clinical officers, and laboratory technicians to give dialogue a chance,” she said in a statement on Friday.
A KMPDU-led alliance including the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) ordered its members to down tools over a stalemate on remuneration of medical interns.
KMPDU has demanded payment of Sh206,000 to intern doctors, rejecting the government offer of Sh70,000.
