KMPDU gives gov't 14-day ultimatum to dissolve KMPDC over corruption claims

The union is accusing its regulator of corruption and failing in its mandate to safeguard medical practice and protect patients.

The dispute, now laid bare in a letter to the parent ministry, underscores a deepening rift between doctors and the council tasked with overseeing the profession. KMPDU argues that the council, whose role is to protect Kenyans from rogue practitioners, has failed in its duty.

The latest confrontation has been triggered by a nearly two-year-old audio recording that recently surfaced, in which a KMPDC member is allegedly heard negotiating a Ksh.1 million bribe from a doctor involved in a medico-legal dispute.

“The council has gone rogue; they are not doing their job. Their job is to regulate the profession and handle negligence cases. For a long time, it has come to our attention that they are involved in corruption,” stated Davji Atellah.

However, the union says the issue goes beyond the audio clip, pointing to what it describes as systemic failures within the council. Among the concerns raised are questionable curriculum approvals equating dentists to other cadres, and the continued operation of unlicensed or substandard facilities, including cases of botched procedures.

“Every facility that operates in the country is regulated by the council. It does not need any corruption because it deals directly with the lives of people. As long as they are there, we cannot expect justice for any patients or doctors,” stated Davji Atellah, KMPDU Secretary General.

KMPDU has now threatened to escalate the standoff by urging doctors to stop paying regulatory fees if the council is not dissolved, a move that could cripple its operations.

“When the people who are entrusted by the association, KMPDU or the Kenya Medical Association, go into this council to ensure that the doctors get justice, the patients get justice, turn around and become cabals and the face of corruption, then it becomes a problem,” stated Davji Atellah, KMPDU Secretary General.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who has previously warned the council against “business as usual,” now faces mounting pressure to act.

“I have listened to the views of the union. I have asked Professor Were to have a meeting, they did yesterday, the recommendations are on my desk and I will take action,” stated Aden Duale, Health Cabinet Secretary.

With the 14-day ultimatum now in effect, questions remain over whether decisive action will restore confidence in the regulatory body or deepen the rift within the medical fraternity.