By KPC Reporter
Six MPs from Kiambu County has called for the immediate takeover of the devolved health function by the national government, accusing Governor Kimani Wamatangi of arrogance, intimidation, and a catastrophic failure of leadership.
In what they termed as “the only realistic, life-saving path forward” the lawmakers are demanding that the national government take over Kiambu’s health docket until 2027, essentially stripping Governor Wamatangi of control over the sector for the remainder of his term.
“When a devolved function becomes a threat to human life, the nation cannot look away. For the sake of those who live and suffer in Kiambu, there must be an immediate and decisive intervention,” they said in a joint press statement read by Lari MP by 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,” they added.
Others were MPs John Kiragu (Limuru), John Kawanjiku (Kiambaa), Elijah Njoroge Kururia (Gatundu North), Gathua Wamacukuru (Kabete) and Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika Town).
“This is not a political manoeuvre, it is an act of rescue. The Constitution makes provision for national intervention when a county fails in its basic obligations to protect its people,” they declared.
They added that devolution was never meant to shield impunity or justify the abandonment of citizens.
The lawmakers called on President William Ruto’s administration to invoke constitutional provisions that allow national intervention when counties fail to protect their people.
“Healthcare is not a campaign slogan , it is a constitutional right, a moral obligation, and a lifeline,” their statement read. “In Kiambu, that lifeline has been severed.”
The MPs spoke at Parliament Buildings where they painted a grim picture of collapsed hospitals, abandoned patients, and a ballooning death toll that they say has left Kiambu residents “at the mercy of fate rather than being attended by medics.”
They described collapsed hospitals, abandoned patients, and a ballooning death toll, accusing Governor Kimani Wamatangi of presiding over a “systemic collapse driven by negligence and pride.”
“This is no longer a disruption or a temporary hiccup. It is a systemic collapse driven by arrogance and failure of leadership,” said Limuru MP Eng. John Kiragu Chege
“Kiambu has shown itself either incapable or unwilling to run its health sector. For the sake of the 2.4 million residents who depend on it, the national government must intervene not tomorrow, not next week, but now.”
At the centre of the crisis, the MPs said, are Kiambu’s two main referral facilities Kiambu Level 5 Hospital and Thika Level 4 Hospital once lifelines for thousands of patients each day.
Today, they stand as shadows of their former selves: wards deserted, units unmanned, and queues of desperate residents turned away with no medical staff to attend to them.
Operating theatres have gone silent, pharmacies are bare, and vital equipment lies idle. Maternity units, meant to usher in new life, have instead 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,” Gatundu North legislator Hon. Kururia Elijah Njoroge said.
“Many families have resorted to hiring private ambulances to Nairobi, Machakos, or Murang’a. Too often, patients collapse and die on the way.”
According to the MPs, the collapse stems from months of doctors’ strikes. Instead of negotiating, Governor Wamatangi is accused of taking a hardline stance dismissing union concerns, issuing threats, and publicly posturing rather than engaging in dialogue.
This hostility triggered a drastic response: the national government withdrew 697 medical intern doctors from Kiambu facilities.
A new cohort of interns expected to alleviate the shortage was also diverted to other counties, with officials citing Kiambu’s “toxic working environment.”
“Those left behind including nurses, clinical officers, and support staff are either on strike or working under intolerable conditions without meaningful support,” said Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a, warning that the county was no longer a safe or viable place to practice medicine.
The MPs cited devastating figures claiming that at least 136 infants have died in neonatal and pediatric wards due to lack of care, while 20 mothers have lost their lives during childbirth or from preventable complications.
“These are not acts of fate, but direct outcomes of failed governance,” charged Kabete MP Gathua Wamacukuru. “Families are mourning loved ones not because disease was unstoppable, but because leadership chose coercion over conversation.”
The legislators accused Governor Wamatangi of creating a leadership vacuum, replacing dialogue with diktats, cooperation with coercion, and humility with intransigence.
“This is not a failure born of poverty. It is a failure born of pride,” they declared. “The county’s problem is not scarcity of resources, but the arrogance of leadership.”