Over twenty doctors from the Congo have united and declared legal war against the Kenyan government, claiming that their practicing licenses and work permits for 2026 were not renewed, which the public health emergency fears.
The case was submitted to the Nairobi High Court as a matter of urgency on Monday, January 12, accusing the Health Ministry and Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale of acting capriciously and discriminately.
The Congolese physicians, who are represented by lawyer Danstan Omari, argue that the government’s ouster of “letters of no objection,” which are important for renewal of the license, has effectively kept them from practicing only by being legally and professionally qualified.
The lawsuit lawfully points out Duale and the Health Ministry as defendants and calls for an order to vacate the directive, an order to renew the licenses and permits, and the lifting of what the medical professionals call illegal restraints to their operations.
The situation was made worse by court documents that got interlinked with a directive dated January 7, which limited the issuance of letters of no objection. Doctors said such a requirement did not exist before, and no documentation to that effect has been provided.
They further argued that the sudden policy change was imposed without prior notice, consultation, or a written explanation, which has left many legally residing doctors in a helpless situation, where they cannot work or even live in the community.
The Congolese medics are adamant that they have been living and working legally in Kenya for more than ten years. They have been paying taxes and working in both public and private health facilities.
According to the medics, the freeze on new applications not only infringes the Kenyan constitution’s guarantee against unfair administrative action but also creates a situation contrary to Kenya’s commitments under the East African Community (EAC) framework, which allows citizens of the member states to work and practice their professions in other partner countries.
The medical practitioners in their petition have cautioned that the court’s non-intervention could lead to the exclusion of a great number of patients from receiving the necessary medical attention and, at the same time, put practitioners and their families in deep economic hardship.
The medical professionals claim the current situation is putting a heavy burden on the medical services in Kenya, which are already overstretched.
The government has not made any public statements in relation to the lawsuit; however, this legal battle is considered as one of the harshest tests the new health policies have to go through. Analysts believe that the ruling will be of great importance not only to foreign health workers but also to the availability of medical services on a national level.
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