Duale suspends Nursing Council of Kenya CEO Lister Onsongo

Health CS Aden Duale has suspended the Chief Executive Officer of the Nursing Council of Kenya, Lister Onsongo.

Duale said the suspension is due to an alleged unlawful submission of 42 Bachelor of Science (BSc) Nursing students for internship before the completion of their academic programmes.

The CS has appointed the Director of Standards and Compliance, Ann Mukuna to take over the operations of the Council until further notice.

“The Ministry of Health has uncovered a serious breach of regulations involving the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) and 10 Public and Private Universities. We have noted the unlawful submission of 42 Bachelor of Science (BSc) Nursing students for internship before the completion of their academic programmes,” Duale said.

“This action is in direct contravention of the Nursing Council Act and the guidelines approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC)."

The Ministry has further revoked all internship letters issued to the affected 42 students with immediate effect.

Duale said the affected individuals have been immediately instructed to vacate their duty stations as investigations commence.

“In line with this, the Ministry has suspended Lister Onsongo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nursing Council of Kenya, pending the outcome of a comprehensive internal audit of the full cohort of 2,098 BSc Nursing interns,” he said.

The Ministry said it is committed to upholding the integrity of healthcare training and deployment.

Duale said all individuals found culpable-whether at the Ministry of Health, the NCK, or within the leadership of the implicated universities will be held fully accountable.

The health CS said the matter is being treated with the utmost urgency to safeguard professional standards, ensure compliance with statutory requirements, and protect the rights of nursing graduates and the public.