Kenya’s nurses have announced plans for a nationwide strike beginning August 8, 2025, citing unfulfilled agreements and stalled negotiations with both county and national governments.
Henry Adolwa, National Trustee of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), said the strike was inevitable due to persistent government inaction.
“The county governments have refused to implement the CBA. We are no longer going to tolerate this. Come August 8, 2025, nurses across the country will down their tools in an industrial action unlike any seen before,” Adolwa stated.
Core Grievances
Among the union’s main grievances is the government’s failure to transition nurses employed under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme to permanent and pensionable terms.
KNUN also accuses county governments of failing to implement the 2024 salary review recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
At the national level, the government is being held accountable for not honoring a return-to-work formula agreed upon in November 2017. Further frustrations stem from delays and stagnation in negotiating and finalizing new Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) at the county level.
Peaceful Protest Planned Ahead of Strike
In the lead-up to the industrial action, KNUN has issued a formal notice of a peaceful procession and a request for police security. The letter, dated July 31, 2025, was signed by Secretary General Seth Panyako.
According to the union, nurses will hold a peaceful protest on August 5, 2025, starting at 9:00 a.m. Demonstrators will assemble at Green Park Railways before marching along Ngong Road to the Ministry of Health headquarters (Afya House) in Upper Hill, where they will present a petition to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
The procession will then move to Parliament Road, where nurses plan to deliver petitions to the Speakers of the Senate and National Assembly. The protest will end with a return to Green Park, where participants will disperse.
KNUN emphasized that the demonstration aims to highlight the ongoing struggles of UHC nurses and other unresolved issues affecting the nursing profession nationwide.
