Kenyan court blocks state move to hire foreign doctors

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – A Kenyan court Friday temporarily blocked a government move to hire foreign doctors from Tanzania and Cuba in the wake of a strike of domestic doctors.

Labor Court Justice Nelson Abuodha blocked the move to hire over 500 foreign physicians in a case filed by five doctors from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU).

The doctors argued that there are over 1,400 jobless medical school graduates in Kenya and so the government should prioritize their employment before seeking to hire physicians from abroad.

On March 14 Kenyan Health Minister Cleaopa Mailu had reached an agreement with Tanzanian President John Magufuli to import the doctors after making pledges that they would be well paid and offered housing and security.

Aboudha said his ruling will be in effect until further hearings on the case set to start on April 19.

This hiring announcement came after doctors in Kenya signed a deal with the Kenyan government to end a three-month strike, the longest in Kenyan history.