- Dr Moraa who was until her death a medical intern at Gatundu Level 5 Hospital was found dead on the balcony of her bedroom apartment Sunday night.
- KMPDU SG Dr Atellah condoled with family, friends and colleagues of Dr Moraa and called for improved working environments for all doctors in the country.
Doctors Union has mourned the tragic demise of Dr Desree Moraa through alleged suicide over the weekend.
Dr Moraa, who was until her untimely death a medical intern at Gatundu Level 5 Hospital, was found dead on the balcony of her bedroom apartment Sunday night in a case of suspected suicide.
Police who visited the scene said they found her body dangling near her balcony with a rope tied around her neck.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacist and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU), Secretary General Dr Devji Atellah blamed her death on work-related pressure laced with poor working conditions.
"Dr Moraa was working under very difficult, dangerous, and indecent conditions that did not guarantee her safety and overall well-being," Atellah said.
"Her death is a sad but glaring manifestation of our country's broken healthcare system that feeds on the unpaid and underpaid labour of young doctors and continues to undermine their safety and basic human rights.”
The KMPDU boss said Kenya’s health system is rife with structural failures that have led to such tragedies in the past, terming it a dangerous system that will continue to wreak havoc on the lives of healthcare workers.
Atellah condoled with family, friends, and colleagues of Dr Moraa and called for improved working environments for all doctors in the country saying a workplace should not make workers feel isolated and desperate that they believe there is no way out.
“The system as designed failed Dr Moraa and many others who we have mourned before. We must together resist it. We must resist this modern-day slavery and challenge the embedded structural failures that lead to such tragedies,” he said.
“We owe it to Dr Moraa and every healthcare worker in this country to demand work environments that prioritise workers' mental well-being, ensure timely and fair compensation, and hold accountable those who perpetrate abuse and exploitation.”
Dr Moraa, 27, was staying alone on the fourth floor of an apartment where her body was found.
The motive behind her suspected suicide is yet to be established.
However, according to police, she left a suicide note suggesting a motive.
In the note, she indicated that she was stressed and overworked, police said.
Some of her colleagues concurred with her sentiments, citing round-the-clock 12-hour shifts that sometimes stretched into 36 hours.
They added that personal struggles may have worsened things for her.