KENYA: Six patients die as nurses go on strike over pay dispute

Kenyan government nurses have gone on strike over delays in an agreement that will give them pay rises, a union official said on Tuesday, bringing services to a halt in many parts of the country.

The deal was meant to have been signed by the union, the national government and county governments, but the state commission that advises on public sector pay rejected the deal, according to an official letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The strike, which has led to patients being sent away from some hospitals, is a headache for both national and county governments ahead of elections in August 8.

In Mombasa County’s Coast General Hospital, a senior health official said the strike had already led to six patient deaths.