The drama unfolding in Machakos is nothing short of disgraceful. Nurses, sworn to save lives, have now chosen to play politics with patients’ pain. Their union leaders, drunk on ego, stormed out of negotiations with Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s administration with the nurses abandoning the very people who depend on them for survival is a shameful act.
Seven demands were tabled. Six were settled. One — promotions — caused the walkout. Promotions! Not salaries slashed. Not unsafe working conditions. Promotions. And even on that single demand, the County Government, through County Secretary and Head of Public Service **Dr. Muya Ndambuki**, tabled a fair offer. Instead of seizing the olive branch, the nurses’ leadership arrogantly declined, proving their goal was not resolution but confrontation.
While ordinary wananchi cry for medicine, mothers writhe in pain, and children gasp for care, Machakos nurses are sulking over titles and upward mobility. Patients have become collateral damage in a reckless ego battle.
What’s worse, they walked out “rudely,” as officials described — sneering at a government that had bent over backwards to meet them more than halfway. This is not negotiation. This is extortion by stethoscope.
The nursing profession demands compassion, empathy, and a patient-first mindset. But in Machakos, that oath has been thrown to the dogs. Patients have been downgraded to bargaining chips, while union bosses flex their muscles and pat themselves on the back.
Let’s be brutally honest: Nurses are not the only employees in government. Teachers, police, clerks — they all have grievances. But they don’t abandon duty and hold innocent citizens hostage. Why then should nurses behave as though they are the untouchable gods of public service?
Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s administration has shown leadership, compromise, and restraint. The nurses have shown arrogance, entitlement, and an appalling lack of humanity.
This is bigger than Machakos. If health workers across the country normalize this reckless, ego-driven activism, then the entire healthcare system collapses. Patients will die — not because of lack of medicine, but because of selfishness.
It’s time to call it what it is: **a betrayal of duty, a mockery of professionalism, and a slap in the face of every patient in Machakos.** Nurses must drop the ego, accept the offer already given, return to work, and remember their true calling — saving lives, not playing union politics.
About The Author
These are the fruits of bribing for careers in public service.
A truly called nurse would not abandon patients due to promotion issues.
It’s high time Kenya gets back to recruiting the right candidates in different careers based not only qualifications but one character.