Kenya’s medical community has been devastated by the terrible loss of Francis Njuki, a medical intern doctor at the Thika Level Five Hospital in Kiambu County.
According to reports, Njuki, a pharmacist at the medical center, allegedly committed himself on Tuesday, November 26, following a protracted mental and financial struggle.
While announcing Njuki’s death, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Atellah criticized the government for carelessness over health professionals’ concerns.
According to him, excessive working hours with little or no leisure time, along with low compensation and occasionally delayed salaries, could lead to suicide.
“Another doctor intern has tragically taken his own life this morning, a heartbreaking outcome of relentless workplace frustrations under a government that seems indifferent,” Attelah commented.
“Four months of working over 36-hour shifts without pay can break even the strongest among us. Our hearts ache as the medical fraternity mourns for our younger brothers and sisters,” he added.
Atellah stated that the union would soon launch a campaign demanding accountability from the government.
However, his comment elicited conflicting reactions from Kenyans, with some accusing him of abandoning the fight for the rights of healthcare workers.“You prematurely ended the strike. Part of me still blames you and other KMPDU members for failing the junior lot.
They are suffering. Act or keep silent,” commented a Kenyan.
The latest occurrence occurred just two months after another intern doctor, Desree Moraa, a former medical officer at the Gatundu Level Five Hospital, committed himself under mysterious circumstances.
According to a police report, Moraa’s body was discovered dangling from the rooftop of his bedroom balcony by her colleagues, who had been looking for her after she failed to answer their calls.
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