Nurses Suspend Protests to Donate Blood for Kisumu Crash Victims

 

By Gideon Ngenoh 

 The ongoing nurses' strike in Kisumu took a deeply compassionate turn on its fourth day after the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Kisumu branch postponed a planned street demonstration to stand in solidarity with victims of a recent tragic road accident.

The union, which had been set to march to Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o’s office on Monday, instead mobilised its members to join a blood donation drive at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH). The gesture was aimed at supporting the 26 survivors of the accident and honoring the 26 lives lost in the crash along the Kisumu-Kakamega highway — most of them from Nyakach Subcounty.

KNUN Deputy Secretary General Maurice Opetu said the union's decision to suspend protests was driven by empathy and the need to stand with affected families during their time of grief.

“We had planned to hold our demonstrations today, but we saw it wise to suspend all activities so we could stand with the victims,” said Opetu.

“Our nurses are donating blood to help save lives and show that we are with the people of Nyakach during this difficult time.”

Opetu further appealed to the county government of Kisumu to seize the moment for dialogue, accusing officials of being unresponsive to the union’s demands.

“We want to call out the county government of Kisumu for being nonsensical to the plight of nurses. We issued a strike notice to all 47 county governments. About 10 counties have responded and are in talks with our members,” he said.

“But for three weeks now, there’s been no word from Kisumu. That silence speaks volumes.”

The strike, which began last week, is rooted in grievances over the county’s failure to implement the 2024 Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) salary review structure. The structure has already been adopted at the national level. The union is also pushing for the resolution of other long-standing welfare issues affecting healthcare workers.

Despite the industrial action, Opetu assured the public that the union had made arrangements to ensure that nurses in critical units at JOOTRH remained on duty to care for accident victims.

He also called on psychological counsellors, trauma specialists, and social workers to step in and provide ongoing support to both survivors and bereaved families.

“Recovery is not only physical. These families need psychological and emotional care, and we are asking professionals to step forward,” he said.