Machakos Health Crisis Deepens as a Cornered Governor Runs Out of Tricks

By Anchor Writer

Machakos County is staring at a complete shutdown of its health system as doctors prepare to down their tools, just 10 days into a strike by nurses that has already crippled services.

The looming doctors’ strike marks the clearest sign yet of Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s failure to govern a critical sector.

It comes on the back of broken promises to health workers, as both doctors and nurses accuse her administration of breaching Return-to-Work Formulae (RTWF) agreements that were separately signed to avert past strikes.

A copy of the RTWF signed between the county and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) seen by The Anchor shows that the county committed itself to implement promotions, pay arrears, and provide adequate medical cover, among other obligations.

These commitments, however, remain unfulfilled months later, leaving doctors frustrated and now set on industrial action.

There remains no evidence whatsoever that the government is keen on resolving the matter and avoiding deaths and suffering in hospitals.

Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu Muthama has visited the Machakos L5 hospital to witness the unfolding chaod and called on Governor Wavinya to ‘do the right thing’ for Machakos people and restore healthcare.

Past agreements have turned to open lies and Wavinya only unleashes her surrogates to sign the false documents whenever the health sector is on its knees.

Yet the non Honouring of these commitments comes amid lavish spending by the county on non priority projects like tournaments, empowerment outings, and trips both local and international.

For nurses, the tipping point came last week when their leaders stormed out of a meeting with County Secretary Dr. Muya Ndambuki, County Public Service Board Chair Urbanus Mutisya, and Health CECM Justus Kasivu. The meeting was reportedly meant to craft yet another agreement, but union leaders rejected it as a “fraudulent scheme” designed to buy time while ignoring past obligations.

With doctors now mobilizing to strike, Machakos risks a total collapse of healthcare delivery. Public hospitals are already barely functioning due to the absence of nurses. If doctors walk out too, emergency, maternity, surgical, and outpatient services will grind to a halt, leaving patients at the mercy of private facilities — a cost most cannot afford.
The crisis is not just about worker grievances. It is a reflection of systemic mismanagement in Governor Ndeti’s administration, which has repeatedly failed to honour binding agreements. County insiders admit that failure to release funds on time and bureaucratic connivance between the Executive and the County Public Service Board have stalled implementation of the RTWFs.

The CPSB has been on an employment spree, dishing out jobs to reward Wavinya loyalists and sending home hundreds of staff, who remain on full pay. The board boss has twice snubbed summons by the Machakos County Assembly to explain his actions together with the Head of County Public Service Dr Muya Ndambuki, who is also the County Secretary.
Union officials say patience has run out. “We can not keep signing agreements that the county has no intention of honouring. Our members are suffering, and so are patients. Enough is enough,” one official said, pointing to the signed but neglected RTWF documents.

The unfolding health paralysis adds to the list of governance headaches facing Governor Ndeti, including ongoing clashes with the County Assembly and accusations of presiding over a failing bursary program.

For now, however, it is the health crisis that threatens to define her administration’s  graphic incompetence.

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