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Eight doctors' union officials risk going to jail on Friday after the Court of Appeal declined to suspend the one-month sentence given by a lower court.
Appellate judges Hannah Okwengu, GBM Kariuki and Jamila Mohammed ruled that the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) had not presented enough reasons to convince them to suspend their impending jail sentence.
"We do not find it appropriate to issue any orders at this stage of the appeal. We are also not persuaded by their application to stop proceedings of their case at the Industrial Court, which led to their conviction," ruled the judges. According to the judges, the officials should blame themselves for not following proper directions issued by the Court of Appeal, which would have convinced them to intervene in their dispute.
They ruled that when the officials filed appeal in December last year, they were directed to serve the Council of Governors and Health CS Cleopa Mailu but failed to do so, only to come back at the last minute.
The ruling came as Dr Mailu and his Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri were summoned by a Senate committee in a bid to end the ongoing doctors' strike.
The union officials and representatives from the Council of Governors have also been asked to appear before the Senate Health Committee.
Speaking yesterday at a Press briefing in Parliament, committee Chairman Wilfred Machage said the parties will appear separately before his team starting from next week Tuesday.
"We have summoned Mailu and his team to appear on Tuesday," he said.
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