On Wednesday, March 5, several county employees took to the streets of Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) to protest the delayed payment of their wages. The workers, who are part of the Dishi na County program launched by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, were seen marching through the streets wearing their official uniforms.
They expressed their dissatisfaction with the Nairobi County Government over the non-payment of their salaries, with one worker claiming that their pay had been delayed for over a month.
In videos shared with newshub.co.ke, a large group of Dishi na County workers was seen holding placards and chanting Sakaja’s name as they marched.
Despite their frustrations, the workers maintained a peaceful protest but made it clear that they were determined to continue their demonstration and march to City Hall to address their concerns directly with the Nairobi County Government.
The Dishi na County program, which was launched on June 19, 2023, aims to tackle food shortages in schools by providing meals to students. This initiative was designed to improve students’ health and academic performance by offering balanced meals.
The program focused on setting up centralized kitchens across Nairobi’s 17 sub-counties, where meals would be prepared and distributed to schools.
Under the program, students were required to pay KSh 5 for the meals through a tap-to-eat system. However, the county government was supposed to cover the cost of meals for students who could not afford to pay. By August 2024, a year after its launch, the program had benefited approximately 310,000 pupils from 230 primary schools.
This protest marks the second consecutive day of demonstrations in Nairobi CBD. On the previous day, hundreds of workers from the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program also took to the streets with similar complaints.
They demanded permanent employment contracts and pension benefits, accusing the government of favoring their counterparts with permanent positions. These workers also expressed frustration over the lack of payment for their five-year gratuity, which the government was obligated to pay at the end of their contract terms.
Furthermore, the UHC workers criticized the Ministry of Health for consistently ignoring their concerns. In a separate development, the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) has announced plans to call for a nationwide strike on Monday, March 18, unless the government resolves the ongoing dispute regarding medical coverage linked to the Public Officers Medical Fund (POMF).
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