Nurses threaten strike over Maalim hate speech remarks

Members of the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK) have given Dadaab MP Farah Maalim seven days to issue a public apology over alleged hate speech made in Parliament last week.

NNAK President Collins Ojwang said that failure to comply will trigger industrial action and a march to the National Assembly to seek an audience with the Speaker.

“NNAK demands an immediate and unequivocal public apology from MP Maalim to nurses and the broader healthcare workforce,” said Ojwang.

The row stems from remarks made on March 31, when Maalim accused a Garissa County Executive Committee Member in Parliament of allegedly refusing to release a doctor for further training at Kenyatta University.

He further claimed that the CECM for Health, a nurse, harboured bias against doctors and questioned whether nurses should hold senior leadership positions in the health sector.

Maalim argued that nurses should not supervise doctors, citing what he termed lack of requisite qualifications in certain leadership roles.

In response, NNAK defended nurses, saying they are fully qualified to hold leadership positions and play a central role in delivering healthcare services nationwide.

“The utterances are demeaning and reflect a misunderstanding of Kenya’s devolved health system and its legal framework,” said Ojwang.

He warned against discrimination in the health sector, terming the remarks as disrespectful to nurses, many of whom manage critical health functions across counties.

Ojwang added that healthcare leadership in Kenya is multidisciplinary and based on competence, experience, and professional training, not professional cadre.

He further noted that existing human resource policies already provide clear guidelines on training, study leave, and career progression within the health sector.