The People’s Liberation Party (PLP) Leader, Martha Karua, has served the William Ruto-led government with an ultimatum after St Mary’s Hospital (in Mumias) collapsed.
Through her X handle on Thursday, August 28, 2025, Karua regretted that the once vibrant mission hospital, which had served for ninety-three years, had now been strangled by reckless government mismanagement.
Karua said St Mary’s Hospital Mumias had been a lifeline across Butere, Busia, and Bungoma for generations.
She observed that the hospital had not only treated the sick but had also been a pillar of dignity to families who often travelled long distances in search of care.
With its collapse, she noted, a community had lost hope and a heritage of healing had been abandoned.
Patients and staff were left stranded
Figures shared by Karua revealed that an estimated average of 300 patients sought care daily at St Mary’s.
She explained that these patients now have nowhere to turn, leaving mothers, children, grandfathers, and entire families stranded without medical support.
Two hundred health workers who once formed the backbone of the hospital’s operations have also been rendered jobless.
PLP boss Martha Karua during a past political rally. Photo: Martha Karua Source: Facebook
Karua lamented that this crisis is not about numbers; it is about people.
“It is about grandfathers, uncles, children, mothers, and fathers who need care today,” she stressed, reminding the government that health is a right and not a privilege.
Karua’s three demands
In her statement, the PLP leader presented three urgent demands to the government. First, she called on the state to immediately pay the Ksh 180 million owed to St Mary’s and clear arrears owed nationwide.
St Mary’s Hospital in Mumias. Photo: Standard Digital Source: X
Secondly, she urged the administration to overhaul the Social Health Authority’s broken reimbursement system so that hospitals can receive prompt and fair payments.
Thirdly, she insisted on an open engagement with stakeholders to repair healthcare financing before more hospitals collapse and more lives are lost.
Karua reminded leaders that leadership must mean accountability, not abandonment. She concluded that the government could no longer afford to ignore the suffering of ordinary citizens who deserve access to care.