Kericho County has taken a major step to restore healthcare services following the prolonged nurses’ strike, with Governor Dr. Erick Mutai announcing that the county has completed the emergency recruitment of 150 nurses. The new recruits are expected to strengthen staffing levels in public hospitals and health facilities as the county attempts to restore normal operations despite the continuing nationwide nurses’ industrial action.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, after days of uncertainty over the availability of nurses in Kericho’s public health facilities. Governor Mutai said the 150 newly recruited nurses were reporting for induction and orientation and were expected to be deployed to county hospitals later in the day. 

The development follows the governor's earlier announcement on August 27 that Kericho County would recruit approximately 150 nurses on a temporary basis if striking nurses did not return to work. At that time, Mutai issued a strong warning to nurses who had remained away from their workstations, saying the county could not allow health services to remain disrupted indefinitely. 

Governor Mutai says healthcare services must continue

In his latest communication, Governor Mutai made it clear that the county's priority is ensuring that residents continue receiving medical services.

According to the governor, significant progress had already been made in restoring services, with outpatient services beginning to recover. He also announced that inpatient admissions would resume from September 1 following the deployment of the newly recruited nurses. 

The governor's position is that residents should not be forced to suffer because of an industrial dispute between healthcare workers and government authorities.

He has repeatedly argued that public hospitals provide essential services and that patients cannot simply wait indefinitely while negotiations over employment conditions continue.

This has placed the county administration in a difficult position. On one side are nurses demanding the implementation of agreements and improved employment conditions, while on the other side are patients who depend on public hospitals for maternity services, emergency treatment, operations, medication and other forms of medical care.

Why the 150 nurses are important

The recruitment of 150 nurses is particularly significant because the nurses' strike has affected staffing in several public facilities across Kericho County.

Reports indicate that approximately 400 nurses have been participating in the industrial action. This has created a significant staffing gap in hospitals and health centres. The county therefore considers the emergency recruitment necessary to keep facilities operational. 

The new nurses are expected to help fill some of the immediate gaps created by the strike. Their deployment could allow hospitals to increase the number of patients they can admit and improve the availability of nursing services in wards.

However, 150 nurses will not necessarily replace the entire workforce affected by the strike. Instead, the recruitment is being presented as an emergency intervention aimed at restoring essential services.

The county has also continued relying on other health professionals who remained at work, including doctors, clinical officers, laboratory technologists and pharmacists. Governor Mutai said these professionals have played an important role in keeping health facilities operational during the dispute. 

Facilities expected to benefit

Governor Mutai has mentioned several facilities where healthcare services have continued despite the disruption.

These include Kericho County Referral Hospital, Kapkatet Hospital, Londiani, Sigowet and health facilities in Ainamoi, as well as the municipal health facility in Kericho town. 

The county says outpatient services have remained available in several facilities because doctors and other healthcare workers continued reporting to work.

With the recruitment of the 150 nurses, the administration hopes to expand those services and restore inpatient care.

This could be particularly important for patients requiring continuous monitoring and nursing care. Unlike outpatient patients who may visit a hospital, receive treatment and leave, inpatients require nurses to remain available around the clock.

The governor's earlier warning to striking nurses

The announcement of the 150 recruits did not come unexpectedly.

On August 27, Governor Mutai addressed journalists at the Kericho County Referral Hospital and warned nurses who had failed to report to work that they risked losing their positions.

He said the county would advertise vacancies and recruit new nurses if the striking employees did not return to duty. He also appealed specifically to unemployed trained nurses from Kericho County to take advantage of the opportunity. 

Mutai called on qualified nurses with valid licences to submit their documents to the nearest health facility.

His message was essentially that the county would not allow the strike to completely shut down health services.

By September 1, the county had moved from announcing the recruitment plan to stating that the 150 nurses had been recruited and were reporting for induction and orientation. 

The wider nurses' strike

The dispute in Kericho is part of a much larger national nurses' strike.

The Kenya National Union of Nurses has maintained that the industrial action is connected to unresolved employment and labour-related issues. Among the issues raised are delayed promotions, unremitted statutory deductions, permanent employment of Universal Health Coverage staff and implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreements. 

The nationwide strike began on July 29, 2026, and has affected health services in various counties.

In Kericho, nurses have particularly raised concerns over the implementation of the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Reports from the beginning of the strike indicated that nurses accused the county administration of failing to address their grievances, including the CBA issue. 

This means that the recruitment of 150 emergency nurses does not necessarily resolve the underlying dispute.

Instead, it addresses the immediate problem of staffing and service delivery.

Governor calls for national intervention

Governor Mutai has also indicated that some of the issues affecting nurses cannot be solved by Kericho County alone.

The ongoing dispute involves national institutions including the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Council of Governors and Ministry of Health. 

This is important because health services were devolved to county governments, but some employment and remuneration issues involve national frameworks and agreements.

The governor has therefore called for the relevant national institutions to help resolve the wider dispute.

The Kenya National Union of Nurses, meanwhile, has said that it remains open to constructive dialogue but insists that key agreements and employment demands must be addressed. 

Mutai warns politicians against hospital demonstrations

Another major part of Governor Mutai's latest statement concerns security at hospitals.

The governor warned politicians against turning hospitals into centres of political demonstrations.

He urged political leaders planning demonstrations to keep such activities away from patients and hospital premises. He emphasized that hospitals should remain calm and secure environments where patients can receive treatment without intimidation, noise or disruption. 

Mutai said the county had strengthened security at its health facilities to prevent unauthorized people and disruptive groups from entering sensitive areas.

He specifically mentioned areas such as the maternity ward, newborn unit and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as spaces that require special protection.

The governor warned that anyone who breaches hospital security or interferes with healthcare delivery would face legal action. 

This part of his message shows that the county is not only focusing on staffing but also on maintaining security as the labour dispute continues.

Other health workers have kept services running

Despite the nurses' strike, Governor Mutai has praised health workers who have continued reporting to work.

According to the county, doctors, consultants, clinical officers, laboratory technologists, pharmacists and other healthcare workers have continued providing services. 

Their continued presence has helped prevent a complete shutdown of Kericho's public health system.

Doctors, for example, have continued performing operations and providing maternity and paediatric services, according to the governor.

However, the absence of large numbers of nurses has still created a serious challenge because nurses are essential to the daily running of wards, administering medication, monitoring patients, assisting doctors and providing round-the-clock patient care.

The 150 new recruits are therefore expected to complement the workers who remained on duty.

County also investing in health infrastructure

Governor Mutai's administration has sought to present the recruitment as part of a broader effort to strengthen healthcare in Kericho.

The governor has pointed to investments in hospital infrastructure and equipment, including developments at Kapkatet Hospital, where theatres and other facilities have been completed and the county is working to equip and upgrade the facility. 

The county has also said it is strengthening pharmaceutical services, including plans to distribute medicines to Level Two and Level Three facilities.

The objective is to make it possible for residents to obtain treatment closer to their homes rather than travelling long distances to major hospitals.

Permanent jobs versus emergency recruitment

One important issue residents and nurses will be watching is the difference between the 150 emergency recruits and permanent county employment.

The current recruitment has been described as an emergency measure intended to restore services during the strike. It should therefore not automatically be interpreted as the permanent settlement of the county's nursing workforce needs.

Interestingly, the Kericho County Public Service Board's current recruitment portal also lists numerous nursing positions, including 71 Registered Nurse I positions, 155 Senior Registered Nurse positions, 88 Chief Registered Nurse positions and 64 Principal Registered Nurse positions, among other nursing positions. The listed deadline for those vacancies is September 4, 2026. 

This is a separate recruitment process and should not automatically be confused with the 150 emergency nurses announced by Governor Mutai.

For nurses and job seekers in Kericho, the distinction is important: the emergency recruitment was announced specifically to address the immediate staffing crisis caused by the strike, while the Public Service Board vacancies form part of the county's formal recruitment process.

What happens next?

The next major question is whether the deployment of the 150 nurses will significantly restore healthcare services while the national strike continues.

The county says it expects inpatient admissions to resume and outpatient services to continue improving. 

The other major question is whether the striking nurses will return to work or whether the dispute will continue.

If the strike persists, Kericho County could face a prolonged confrontation with the nursing workforce. The emergency recruits may help maintain services, but the underlying employment grievances would still require negotiation.

A lasting solution is therefore likely to require discussions between the nurses' union, county governments and national government institutions.

Conclusion

Governor Erick Mutai's announcement of 150 emergency nurses marks one of the strongest actions taken by Kericho County since the beginning of the nurses' strike. What began on August 27 as a threat to recruit replacements has now moved into implementation, with the county saying the 150 nurses have been recruited and are undergoing induction before deployment. 

The governor's central message is that healthcare services must continue regardless of the labour dispute. He has assured residents that outpatient services are recovering and that inpatient admissions are resuming. At the same time, he has urged striking nurses to return to work and warned against disruption of hospitals.

However, the recruitment does not by itself resolve the national nurses' strike. The fundamental disagreements over CBAs, promotions, employment terms and other labour issues remain. The coming days will therefore be important for Kericho as the county attempts to balance patients' right to healthcare, nurses' labour rights and the county government's responsibility to maintain public services.

For residents of Kericho, the immediate hope is that the deployment of the 150 nurses will translate into more functional wards, shorter waiting times and improved access to treatment. For nurses, the larger question remains whether the county and national authorities will eventually address the grievances that triggered the strike in the first place.

Latest position as of September 1, 2026: the 150 emergency nurses have reportedly been recruited, are undergoing induction and orientation, and are expected to be deployed to Kericho County health facilities, while the county works to restore outpatient and inpatient services.