Striking nurses in Kisumu County temporarily halted their planned street demonstrations Monday so as to lead a blood donation drive for survivors of the recent Coptic roundabout road accident that claimed 26 lives.
Led by Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Kisumu branch Deputy Secretary General (DSG) Maurice Opetu, the health workers gathered at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH), saying the gesture was a way of standing in solidarity with the community at its lowest time.
“We were to have our demonstration in the streets of Kisumu up to the governor’s office today, but we saw it wise to postpone every activity to come and give our support to the people of Nyakach and other Kenyans, who lost their loved ones through that tragic accident,” said Opetu.
The DSG said nurses from across the county had been mobilized to donate blood and support the 26 survivors admitted at JOOTRH.
“The main agenda of our gathering here is to donate blood to support the survivors, who are set to undergo surgery. We also want to relay our sympathies and condolences as we stand together with the people of Nyakach who lost their loved ones,” he said.
He praised JOOTRH health workers for their swift response during the Friday evening tragedy and urged them to continue providing professional, social, and psychological support to the injured and bereaved families.
The union leader was however quick to add that the humanitarian gesture did not signal an end to the strike.
“We sympathize with our community, but we will not relent until our grievances are addressed. Kisumu County should take the lead and come out to meet with us so that the disrupted services can resume,” he said.
Opetu confirmed that Kisumu nurses remained fully on strike, adding that full-scale protests would resume soon after to mount pressure on the county government to yield to the nurses demands.
The DSG accused the county government of Kisumu of being reluctant to address their grievances, despite positive engagement from more than 10 other counties across the country.
“We met with them once before the conciliation, and after that meeting, which is almost three weeks ago, they have never shown interest in any other engagement. This means they are not interested in resolving the dispute that is making the nurses go on strike,” he said.
He noted that only skeleton staff remained in hospitals to care for patients awaiting transfer to private and faith-based facilities.
“By tomorrow we will have cleared all the wards and all our nurses will be out on strike. We want to declare that the strike is a success because some counties have resolved it very amicably,” he added.
By Chris Mahandara
