The Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners’ Union (KEHPHPU) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Nairobi City County, warning that dangerous irregularities in food hygiene and medical certification could spiral into a full-blown health disaster.
At the center of the storm is what the union calls a breakdown of professional oversight.
“We have a crisis in City Hall, and it’s coming from food hygiene,” said Secretary General Brown Ashira. “We have unauthorised people in the medical certification unit and unlicensed individuals carrying out public health activities.”
According to KEHPHPU, critical public health roles have been handed to unqualified personnel, a move that violates the law and puts millions at risk. The union specifically flagged the appointment of a medical laboratory technologist to oversee food handling and medical examinations, a role legally reserved for certified public health officers.
The consequences, they warn, are already showing.
“The existence of these faults has led to forgeries of medical certificates in Nairobi County,” Ashira said. “Any food you eat in Nairobi is going to be a pandemic tomorrow.”
The union says illegal outsourcing of food handler testing to private entities has opened the floodgates for fake certificates while draining county revenue. With oversight weakened, the risk of outbreaks of diseases like cholera and dysentery is rising sharply.
Now, KEHPHPU is demanding urgent action:
Immediate removal of all unauthorized personnel
A halt to private laboratory testing
Formation of an audit taskforce within seven days
A full review of all issued medical certificates
They are also pushing for structural reform:
“The food hygiene license must be separated from the unified business permit so that it stands alone,” Ashira emphasized.
The union insists that decoupling the licenses will ensure businesses meet strict health standards instead of slipping through regulatory cracks.
With the clock ticking, KEHPHPU has made its position clear: comply within seven days — or face legal and industrial action.
Because in Nairobi right now, this isn’t just about regulation, it’s about what ends up on your plate, and what it could cost.
