The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), has accused some hospitals of employing foreign doctors without valid work permits.
KMPDU Secretary-General Dr. Davji Bhimji Atellah on Thursday said in press conference that they were backing the Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on conditions of licensing and hiring of foreign doctors.
Duale had issued a statement saying that Kenya will prioritize the licensing and deployment of qualified Kenyan health practitioners before considering the routine licensing of any foreign doctors and other health professionals.
“For far too long, the medical profession in Kenya has been treated as a frontier for profiteering, at the expense of human dignity, professional ethics, and lawful labor standards. Today, we declare unequivocally: the era of treating doctors as cheap, disposable labor is over,” he added.
Dr. Atellah has further accused some medical facilities of failing to meet Class D work permit requirements that are clear and non-negotiable, and yet many private facilities have deliberately bypassed these safeguards, focusing solely on licensing while ignoring lawful employment processes despite the existence of thousands of qualified Kenyan doctors who remain unemployed or grossly underutilized.
“These doctors are paid wages far below what is stipulated in the set Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), and thus this is a pivotal moment. We will no longer tolerate the systematic undercutting of professional fees and labor standards in the name of profit,” the SG stated.
The union noted that more than 3,000 foreign general practitioners have been licensed to practice in Kenya but said most of these practitioners are not recruited to address genuine skills gaps but instead are deliberately targeted by certain private hospitals as a vulnerable workforce to be exploited.
Dr. Atellah announced a comprehensive nationwide enforcement campaign to ensure all public and private health facilities fully comply with labor and professional standards, following the directive by the CS yesterday on licensing and employment of foreign health practitioners.
The SG warned that underpaying and mistreating doctors erodes medical ethics, compromises patient safety, and contributes to unethical practices.
“All doctors, foreign or local, must now be employed under dignified, transparent, and lawful contracts. Non-compliant facilities will face industrial and legal action,” Atellah stated.
CS Duale said that Kenya’s position is clear, lawful, and globally aligned and that qualified Kenyans must come first but clarified that regional commitments will be respected, and exceptional foreign engagement will be permitted only where it adds clear value to the health system and meets the highest ethical and professional standards.
By Wangari Ndirangu
