Kenyan doctor’s suicide puts spotlight on Cuba training deal

A Kenyan doctor in Cuba has committed suicide amid reports that local medics are struggling to cope with life in Central America.

The body of Dr Hamisi Ali Juma was found dangling from the ceiling of his room, according to his colleagues in Cuba.

Dr Juma, who was in his 30s, was married to Dr Zeyana Rasul. He was expected to visit his wife and eight-month-old baby in Kenya soon.

The Kenyan Embassy in Cuba and the police are piecing together the circumstances that could have led to the death of the doctor. His death came months after Kenyan doctors in Cuba said they felt frustrated and mistreated, citing pay delays and inadequate stipend.

Dr Juma was among the 50 medics who were sponsored by the government to study family medicine under a Memorandum of Understanding between Kenya and Cuba. The deal saw Kenya receive Cuban specialists, who are stationed in county hospitals. The pact was opposed by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists' Union (KMPPDU).

In a joint statement, Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki and the Mombasa Governor, Hassan Joho, said that the circumstances resulting in the death of Dr Juma were uncertain.

“The circumstances resulting in the death are not clear yet as investigations by the Cuban authorities are ongoing,” the statement said.

The KMPPDU now wants all Kenyan doctors in Cuba to be repatriated to study back home.

Dr Thuranira Kaugiria, the KMPDU secretary-general for Nairobi, said that the Kenyan doctors in Cuba were given a raw deal, arguing the ministry had been unresponsive to their grievances. In a letter sent to the Kenyan doctors on March 4, 2019, the Health Ministry said it would marginally raise payments for January, February and March to Sh50,000, up from Sh36,000 instead of the Sh144,000 a month they had requested.

The doctors had also requested for return tickets back home every year like their Cuban counterparts in Kenya, but were informed that they were not entitled to it.