Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome Sunday termed demonstrations by doctors and clinical officers as an inconvenience to the public.
He said the medics have been lying on the streets thus obstructing highways, public roads and disrupting free flow of vehicles and movement of people during their demonstrations.
Koome said the medics have engaged in the demonstrations without notifying police officers, which is contrary to the laws of Kenya.
“The medics have become a public nuisance, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas during the demonstrations thus causing discomfort to patients in hospitals and general public,” he said in a statement.
He was reacting for the first time to the month long strike by the doctors and clinicians.
Koome said non-medics who have intentions of causing havoc to the public intend to join the ongoing demonstrations.
Therefore, the medics have been urged to conduct the demonstrations with caution, as any act of infringing the rights of the general public will not be tolerated.
“In the interest of national security therefore, all respective Police Commanders have been instructed to deal with such situations firmly and decisively in accordance with the law.”
“We wish to caution all doctors to refrain from infringing on the rights of others while demonstrating, and that their efforts to disrupt smooth operations of hospitals will not be tolerated,” Koome said.
The medics have been taking to the streets for a month now to demand the posting of interns and implementation of other agreements in the 2017 CBA.
Clinical officers are on their second week of the strike, making similar demands.
Led by their unions, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), the medics have vowed not to relent until the government meets their demands.
Efforts by the government, through the Ministry of Health and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, to negotiate a return to work formula with medics have not been successful.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday expressed concern over the ongoing strike by health workers, which he said is in defiance of a court ruling.
Kindiki said the doctors have continued with their unlawful strike and it has come to his attention that threats are being made against health workers who have chosen not to participate in the industrial action.
He said that meetings, protests or other actions to pursue grievances outside the law and in violation of court orders undermine the constitutional order of the country and are therefore not allowed.
“Law enforcement agencies are directed to ensure strict maintenance of law and order to protect the general public and the health workers who have chosen to obey the court order by providing services pending the resolution of the labour dispute,” Kindiki said.
But the doctors marched through Nairobi streets on the same day before camping outside Parliament where they addressed a group of Members of Parliament.
They said it is their constitutional right to protest and demand to be heard.
“It is noted with grave concern that the participants in the industrial action by health workers continue to defy the aforesaid court order and to intimidate and threaten violence against health workers who have opted not to participate in the unlawful strike,” Kindiki said.
Kindiki said doctors participating in the unlawful industrial action have repeatedly threatened to disrupt service delivery in health facilities and undermine public order in general.
Last weekend, President William Ruto said the country could not afford to meet the doctors’ demands.
Instead, the President urged the doctors to accept what has been offered and that the country cannot live beyond its means.
Some of the demands that the doctors have stuck to include the recruitment of junior doctors and their allowances, which they insist should be Sh150,000 per month as opposed to the Sh70,000 proposed by the government.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874
