A group of foreign doctors has requested the High Court to halt the enforcement of a new licensing decree that has abruptly barred them from medical practice in Kenya.
- •The doctors, all nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who have worked in Kenya for more than a decade, filed a judicial review application this week seeking to overturn a decision that froze the renewal of their practising licences and work permits for 2026.
- •The move follows the implementation of a directive by the Ministry of Health that ended routine licence renewals for foreign physicians unless their specialties are deemed unavailable among Kenyan doctors.
- •The applicants argue that regulators introduced new conditions for licence renewal without prior notice, consultation, or written justification, effectively locking them out of hospitals where they have held valid contracts and senior roles.
“We are here to appeal to the authorities in Kenya to assist us because we have been writing letters to different offices to request consideration of the Congolese to be part of the East African community,” said one of the Congolese doctors working in Kenya.
“The rights bestowed to members of the East African Community also accrue to these doctors. They have been working, their papers of qualification have been verified by the relevant board,” added their lawyer, Danstan Omari.
They further contended that a newly imposed requirement for ministerial clearance before renewals has no published standards and has yet to be operationalized, creating what amounts to an administrative shutdown.
The government’s position frames the policy as a corrective measure after years of reliance on expatriate professionals in areas that officials say can be trained locally. Health authorities maintain that foreign doctors should complement, not substitute, domestic capacity, and that licensing decisions must now reflect national workforce planning rather than historical practice.
The doctors’ filing invokes Kenya’s obligations under the East African Community framework, noting that the DRC joined the bloc in 2022 and that partner-state citizens are entitled to non-discriminatory treatment and mutual recognition of professional qualifications.
The applicants warn that the licence freeze is already forcing experienced clinicians out of operating theatres and administrative posts, risking service disruptions in an overstretched system.
The High Court has been asked to hear the matter on a priority basis, a request that underscores both the professional stakes for the doctors and the public-interest dimensions of the dispute. A ruling in their favor could constrain the use of ministerial discretion in professional regulation and clarify how policy shifts must be implemented.
A decision backing the government could signal a broader recalibration of how Kenya balances national self-sufficiency with regional labour mobility.
