Kenya National Union of Nurses secretary general Seth Panyako has refused to honour summons by the CID to report to Kakamega central police station for interrogation about the ongoing nurses’ strike.
CID officers asked Panyako to appear yesterday to record a statement about the strike that started on Monday.
Speaking on the phone from Mombasa yesterday, Panyako said he rejected the invite because police have no role in employment and labour relations matters.
The strike is not a crime, he said. “You can go there and you end up disappearing. Many people have disappeared in the hands of police and later found dead. They should adequately inform me of any criminal matter they want information on and I will go,” Panyako said.
“Hi Panyako, I am Peter Mbebi of CID Kakamega central. I am investigating a case of striking nurses in Kakamega and in that respect require you to come to the office tomorrow [yesterday] at 10am to record a statement of what you know about the strike,” read an SMS Panyako says was sent to him.
The secretary general told police to keep off union matters. He accused the county government of using police to intimidate union officials to back down instead of addressing their grievances.
