Health interns threaten to down tools over delayed pay

Health services across the country are likely to face more disruption as thousands of healthcare interns threaten to down their tools over delayed salaries.

The interns have accused the government of failing to honour its promise of paying their dues by July 25.

In a notice addressed to the Ministry of Health and internship centre managers across the country, the interns are set to commence their strike on August 31, 2026.

The interns include medical officers, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and clinical officers.

In the notice, which The Standard has a copy, the interns said they had exhausted efforts to resolve the matter amicably, with repeated assurances that their salaries would be paid, failing to yield results.

“When the Cabinet Secretary for Health officially flagged off the current cohort of interns, the Ministry committed that interns would receive their remuneration by July 25, 2026. That commitment has not been honoured,” reads a section of interns caucus memo.

Delay to pay their dues, they said had left many of them struggling to afford basic needs, including food, accommodation and transport, while accumulating debts and other financial obligations.

The interns said they would remain on strike until the Ministry fulfils its obligation to pay them, way from usual promises.

As part of the planned action, interns from various centres are expected to march to the Ministry of Health headquarters in Nairobi to protest the delayed payment.

They have also called on the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) to support their members.

The interns said the action was not directed at supervisors, health facilities or patients, but was a response to what they described as increasingly difficult working and living conditions.

“Interns cannot be expected to perform demanding professional duties effectively while being denied the remuneration upon which they depend to meet their most basic needs,” they added.

At the same time, they acknowledged that the strike could further disrupt patient care in hospitals already facing challenges, but blamed the Ministry for failing to meet its employer obligations.

Currently, health services across the country have been disrupted as nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and public health officers keep off hospitals.

However, the Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni attributed the delay to the process of onboarding about 6,800 interns onto the government payroll.

In a notice to chief executive officers of major referral hospitals and internship centres, Muthoni said the onboarding process had delayed the running of the August payroll.

Muthoni said the process was completed on Friday, August 28, paving the way for the August payroll to be processed, and assured interns that their salaries would start reflecting in their bank accounts from Tuesday, September 1.

“The process of integrating the interns into the payroll concludes on August 28, 2026. Having completed this critical step, the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards is now ready to run the August 2026 payroll,” said Muthoni.

Muthoni wrote the letter on delayed payment to respective hospital managers, including Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH), Mwai Kibaki Referral Hospital in Nyeri.

The letter was also copied to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Council of Governors Chief Executive Officer Mary Mwiti, and respective unions namely KMPDU, KUCO, and KNUNM.

The 2026 cohort of healthcare professional interns was flagged off in July for a 12-month internship programme, with interns reporting to their respective centres and submitting documents required for payroll onboarding.

Despite the government's assurance to pay intern dues, the caucus has vowed not to report to work until payment is done.