Six Members of Parliament from Kiambu County have called for the immediate takeover of the county’s health services by the national government, accusing Governor Kimani Wamatangi of presiding over what they termed a catastrophic collapse of the sector.
In a joint press statement at Parliament Buildings, the MPs said the situation in Kiambu had reached crisis levels, with hospitals deserted, patients abandoned, and a rising death toll that they blamed on failed leadership and arrogance.
“When a devolved function becomes a threat to human life, the nation cannot look away,” read the statement delivered by Lari MP Joseph Mburu Kahangara.
“The only realistic, life-saving path forward is for the national government to assume control of the county’s health function until 2027.”
The lawmakers included John Kiragu (Limuru), John Kawanjiku (Kiambaa), Elijah Njoroge Kururia (Gatundu North), Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika Town), and Gathua Wamacukuru (Kabete).
They insisted their push was not political but an act of rescue.
“This is not a political manoeuvre, it is an act of rescue,” they said.
“The Constitution makes provision for national intervention when a county fails in its basic obligations to protect its people.”
The MPs painted a grim picture of Kiambu Level 5 and Thika Level 4 hospitals, once the county’s main referral facilities, which they said have been reduced to shells of their former selves.
They cited deserted wards, idle equipment, and empty pharmacies, warning that maternity units have become overwhelmed and deadly.
“It is now tragically common to see relatives wheeling their loved ones from one section to another in search of help that never comes,” said Gatundu North MP Elijah Kururia.
“Many families have resorted to hiring private ambulances to Nairobi, Machakos, or Murang’a, with patients often dying on the way.”
The MPs linked the collapse to months of strikes by doctors, which they said Governor Wamatangi mishandled by issuing threats instead of negotiating.
They noted that the national government withdrew 697 medical interns from Kiambu over what it termed a toxic working environment, further deepening the crisis.
Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a warned that the county was no longer a safe place to practice medicine.
Kabete MP Gathua Wamacukuru added that at least 136 infants and 20 mothers had died from preventable causes, calling the deaths direct outcomes of failed governance.
“The county’s problem is not scarcity of resources, but the arrogance of leadership,” the MPs declared, urging President William Ruto’s administration to intervene immediately to save lives.