The Doctors Of Kenya Give Their Best, Yet We Treat Them Like Repugnant Maggots

Kurt Vonnegut in his famous book, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, talks about the practice of medicine as… “The most exquisite pleasure in the practice of medicine comes from nudging a layman in the direction of terror, then bringing him back to safety again.” I am reminded of this quote by a story that ran in one of our dailies about Kenyan doctors and how we allegedly perceive them.

There is no society that does not have challenges. Every sector in society has challenges and Moreso the medical fraternity. Before I take this walk, I would like to reiterate the role of the media in our society today. It is their sole responsibility to ensure that the public has access to the truth, nothing but the truth. We are the conveyor belts of truth. We are the custodians of what the message is from yesterday to today. We are meant to be above reproach because we are the anointed messengers of our dear country Kenya.

Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 aptly opined on what Kenyan journalism is today, and it breaks my heart that I have to agree with him. He said that so much for Objective Journalism. Don’t bother to look for it here, not under any byline of mine; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms. He was clearly talking about Kenya and our current state of journalism and social media has not made it any easier.

Unfortunately, being above reproach isn’t appropriate or applicable anymore. My heart bleeds for this country because, without truth, we are lost and confused and are like blind men and women groping about in the darkness. Truth is the only banner of hope that we as Kenyans have to hold on to as we seek and search for solutions and remedies for that which is a plague to us.

Truth is meant to be sacred. It is sacrosanct. It is the foundation of justice and equality. It’s the equalizer of men and women in the face of fake news and fake deeps. When truth looks in the mirror, fairness looks out, and justice flourishes. This is what we desire in Kenya. Yet those charged with the responsibility have absconded on it and are in bed with the corrupters of truth and virtue that define who we are at our core as human beings.

The article by Nation Africa broke my heart. I have had my own run-ins with the doctors in this country. My mother was misdiagnosed and that led to her death. It took calmness, and reason to fully understand what happened and that is why my people, the Bukusu have a saying that…’ as it rains, and thunder roars and lightning strikes, one should not make any decision until that moment has passed and that no tree has been struck nor child harmed…’

While we are so quick to judge how evil and repugnant doctors are, do we ever ask how the environment they work in is? Do we ever ask if they have the right equipment and medicines and support staff? Do we pause and look around and see what kind of environment have we created for ourselves as patients and potential patients? I have seen doctors pull miracles out of the decaying public hospitals to treat my dad when he had a severe accident at age 92, got a hip replacement, and walked without support for three months. I have seen doctors show me what miracles are when my nephew had cancer and now is healed and a top student in this country. My daughter was in ICU for 18 days and I saw how doctors went over and beyond their calling to touch heaven and heal my daughter. Of course, I credit all these to God. He used His Servants, the doctors we demean so much to pull all these miracles.

Many would say what about those who have suffered under negligence or misdiagnosis? Yes, I am not ignoring them. In fact, instead of using such cases to vilify our doctors and the entire medical fraternity, we should be using them as our guiding beacons to improve our health sector and aim for a better environment that affords all Kenyans the opportunity to be treated by the best.

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Kenya is a country that hates its professionals. It’s a country that hates anyone who says the truth. It’s a country that vilifies anyone who dares to do what is right. It is not a country for doctors and nurses. It’s a country that disdains resources and elevates foreigners.

Kenya has a shortage of 3,238 medical officers, with the required number being at least 5,317. Using this index, Kenya’s ratio is only 13.8 per 10,000 population, according to the Human Resources for Healt