Marsabit clinical officers cry foul over 3 months of unpaid salaries

The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers Marsabit branch on Wednesday took to the streets to demonstrate over unfulfilled promises from the county, key among them three months unpaid salaries.

The healthcare workers said they have endured a vicious cycle of unpaid salaries, delayed promotions and broken promises from the county administration.

They said the situation has now reached a breaking point. The spoke to journalists in Marsabit town.

Led by KUCO county chairperson Abdishukri Adan, they said the county government has consistently failed to remit statutory deductions and implement agreed career progression guidelines.

“We have endured months without pay. Our statutory deductions are not remitted and we have no medical cover. We are simply asking the county to honour its promises, implement the career guidelines, promotions and redesignations,” he said.

According to Adan, the officers’ morale has plummeted as they juggle medical emergencies of their own with financial strain at home.

Many have been forced to borrow money to feed their families, commute to work or even treat themselves when they fall sick.

KUCO Marsabit secretary Daki Abduba recalled how, in the spirit of goodwill, clinical officers called off strikes after signing two return-to-work agreements with the county government–the first on July 9, 2024 and another on April 14 this year.

“We signed those agreements in good faith, hoping for change. But we were deceived. We have endured enough frustration and suffering from this administration. We won’t sign another one in 2025 until our demands are fully met,” she said.

Abduba said a trust deficit has emerged between health workers and the devolved administration, which she accuses of “playing cat-and-mouse games” while health facilities collapse.

Marsabit KUCO treasurer Shukri Ibrahim said the county government has failed to prioritise healthcare despite multiple warnings from medics.

“We are not asking for miracles, just fairness and dignity. Health workers are suffering silently while being accused of laziness or absenteeism," he said.

Ibrahim narrated a case of one of their own, a senior clinical officer now admitted at Garissa County Referral Hospital with stage four cancer.

He said despite serving Marsabit for over 12 years, he hasn’t received a salary since August and has no medical cover.

“He is fighting for his life while depending on colleagues’ fundraisers to pay for chemotherapy. He has a wife and three children who rely entirely on well-wishers. It’s humiliating and inhumane,” Ibrahim said.

Another colleague, who sought anonymity, disclosed that they have been contributing small amounts through M-Pesa drives to keep him on treatment, something he noted underscores the collapse of the county’s staff welfare systems.

He said another clinical officer from Laisamis subcounty is battling tuberculosis.

“He, too, cannot afford medication. With delayed salaries and no insurance, he has been relying on colleagues for moral and financial support. He treats patients every day, yet when he fell sick, the system abandoned him,” said the medic.

The consequences of the medics’ frustrations have rippled through Marsabit’s fragile health system.

Patients have been turned away or referred to Isiolo and Garissa, hundreds of kilometres away.