By:Robert Mutasi
Health services in Homa Bay County have been paralyzed after 742 nurses working in public health facilities downed their tools on Tuesday, July 29, 2026, joining the nationwide industrial action called by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN).
The nurses, who serve in Level Two, Three and Four facilities as well as the Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital, said they will only resume work once the government addresses four long-standing grievances.
Speaking to journalists in Homa Bay, KNUN Executive Secretary Emmadick Otieno said the nationwide strike began on July 29, 2026 over issues that have not been met by the 47 county governments and the Council of Governors.
He listed the demands as: One, the conclusion, signing and registration of the 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Two, implementation of the 2017 Return to Work Agreement that was to see enhancement of the health risk allowance, nursing service allowance and uniform allowance. Three, provision of confirmation letters to nurses recruited under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program. And four, implementation of career progression guidelines.
“We are saying that the 742 nurses currently engaged in Homa Bay public health facilities have downed their tools and they are in solidarity with nurses across the entire country and they are saying that they’ll only go back to work once the CBA has been signed and a no-objection letter produced by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC),” Otieno said.
He added that Level Two, Three and Four health facilities have been closed, while at the county referral hospital only stable patients are being discharged to go home, with unstable patients being referred to seek alternative services in other facilities.
The union also accused the Homa Bay County Government of failing to honour a Return to Work Agreement signed on April 7, 2026, which had set timelines for resolving local issues.
“On 7th April 2026 we got into an agreement or rather a return to work formula that was to see a number of issues implemented. You have implemented some and some have remained unimplemented despite the timeline having elapsed,” Otieno noted, warning that immediately after the nationwide strike notice, the county chapter will serve a separate county-based strike notice until all local issues are fully implemented.
Another union official urged members to strictly follow the stay-at-home directive, saying stable patients will be discharged home while unstable ones will be assisted to find referral options.
The strike has left the Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital compound largely deserted, with empty wards, parked ambulances and patients stranded outside the outpatient centre and funeral parlour.
The nationwide nurses’ strike is expected to further strain an already overstretched public health system as counties struggle to provide essential services.
