Why Kenyan trainee doctors dey take dia own life

Pipo dey sober for one village for Kenya Rift Valley last week as many medical interns follow bury dia colleague wey take im own life.

Di family of di 29-year-old trainee pharmacist, Francis Njuki tell BBC say im bin dey feel tired and frustrated say goment no give am anything from im salary since e start to work as intern for August.

E be di fifth medic wey don kill imself for Kenya in di last two months bicos of "work-stress hardship and lack of responsive insurance cover", na so Dr Davji Atellah wey be di secretary of di Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) say, e say no be sometin wey di joinbodi don eva see bifor.

Di medical bodi tok say dem don get five attempted suicides by members of KMPDU dis year.

Numbers neva dey for who don commit suicides nationwide for Kenya dis year.

Njuki bin dey do im internship for one public hospital for di Thiaka town near di capital Nairobi wen im take im life last month.

Im uncle Tirus Njuki tell BBC say im bin dey get hallucination and depression sake of say im no dey get beta sleep.

Di uncle add say, "for im suicide note, e tok say di four month delay for salary dey part of wetin worsen im mental illness wey make am kill imself."

As di first born of im family, police report tok say di intern bin dey fight wit depression and already dey get treatment.

Njuki dey among hundreds of interns wey dem post go health facilities for August make dem do compulsory one year training bifor dem qualify.

But di interns say dem neva collect salary for di first four months wey goment say na financial problems cause am.

Dis na even though interns na important part of di workforce for public hospitals wey many Kenyans wey no fit afford private medical insurance dey use.

Trainees na about 30% of doctors for di state health sector.

Na dem dey do most of di work for public hospitals but wit close supervision.

Dem dey on call sometimes for 36 hours and provide most of di health services wey patients need.

KMPDU tok for statement say "Like many of im colleagues, Dr Njuki bin dey face ogbonge challenge just so e go get money for bills like rent and utility."

Di goment don dey for long battle wit unions ova di pay and working conditions for interns.

Di goment wan cut di monthly salary of interns to $540 from di $1,600 wey unions agree wit goment for 2017.

But President William Ruto don tok say goment no fit afford to pay dat kain money and "we must to live according to our means", na so e tok for early April.

But afta pressure and threats of strikes, goment release $7.4m last month to pay ova 1,200 interns wey neva collect salaries since August.

Some of di interns say di money dem dey collect na "peanuts".

Dr Abdi Adow wey be intern for Mbagathi hospital for Nairobi tell BBC say, "afta we study for six to seven years, we go come wait for months for internship. And den afta all di long working hours, goment decide say dem go give us peanuts. We dey really suffer".

Dr Adow na one of di many young medics wey dey reason weda to comot di kontri find work abroad or dump dia profession for work wey go pay more money.

Anoda intern wey no want make we mention dia name so dem no go face problem tell BBC say, "I don swear say I go save life at least and restore health at most but goment dey do dia best to kill my morale."

Sabi pipo don use di last month of Dr Timothy Riungu as example of how stressful di working conditions for medics be.

E be paediatrician for Kenyatta National Hospital for Nairobi wey collapse and die for house afta e do round di clock shift wia e bin tell im supervisor say e don taya dat day, according to local tori pipo.

Im family say di 35-year-old bin dey diabetic and neva take leave for two years.

Post mortem show say Dr Riungu die of hypoglycaemia wey be wen blood sugar drop below normal. E also show say e no chop anytin for di 48 hours bifor im die.

For May, Kenya goment reach deal wit one medical union to end 56 day strike but di koko wey be di salaries of interns neva dey settled.

Di strike stop work for public hospitals wey make dozens of patients to die.

Plenti tok-tok ova pay and working conditions of interns don fail.

Last week, KMPDU order intern doctors make dem stay house as dem announce 21 day nationwide strike notice say goment go against di agreement from May.

For September, one 27-year-old medical intern for di Gatundu Level 5 Hospital in central Kiambu county take her life.

Dr Desree Moraa Obwogi bin don finish 36 hour shift wey her co-workers say affect her mental health.

Dem say she too bin dey struggle to pay rent and utility.

Dr Muinde Nthusi wey be di oga of di KMPDI Internship Liason Committee say na money and toxic work environment cause her death.

Local tori pipo report say for her burial, family members say make goment come take responsibility for her death.

Di oda recent suicide cases wey KMPDU don note na: Vincent Bosire Nyambunde, intern for Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital; Collins Kiprop Kosgei, fifth-year medical student for di University of Nairobi and Keith Makori, a 30-year-old medic for central Kiambu county.

Young medics dey ginger for X wit hashtag, #PayMedicalInterns to push for beta pay and working conditions, Dem enta Ministry of Health last week to tok about dia frustrations.

Dr Kipkoech Cheruiyot post for X platform say, "our doctors and nurses dey bear di weight of a broken system but dia cries no dey enta sake of di greed of pipo wey dey power."

Health officials no ansa BBC request for comment,

But for September, Health Minister Deborah Barasa react to di increasing suicide cases say, "na reminder of di struggles wey many including pipo for healthcare work dey face."

Di minister bin announce plans to introduce "ogbonge workplace mental wellness" programmes for healthcare workers nationwide to "make sure say support systems dey stronger and dem no dey feel like dem dey face challenges alone".

Medical sabi pipo say many young doctors dey also face "moral injury" or trauma as dem dey feel guilty say dem neva do enough to treat patients even though dem try dia best under difficult conditions.

Dr Chibanzi Mwachonda wey be psychiatrist tell Kenya Standard Newspaper, say "di thought say you suppose to do sometin wey for save patient life but you no fit, fit lead to guilt, shame, helplessness wey fit add join mental health issues".

Trainee doctors tell BBC say most medical schools no dey torchlight di mata of suicide well-well, wey dey leave new and tired physicians to not get how to deal wit traumatic ordeals and den poor pay go come join di mata.

One intern tok say, "healthy doctor build health kontri. Wen I dey stressed or depressed as doctor, I fit forget how to do resuscitation for patient wey fit make dem die, Demotivated doctor na dangerous pesin to serve you. E dey turn to thankless job."

Di Kenya Bureau of Statistics say na about 1,400 Kenyans dey die by suicide yearly.

Suicides na still crime for Kenya wit sentence of two years imprisonment, fine or both.

Dis law don dey widely criticized as rights groups say make dem comot am say e dey make pipo not to ask for help.

Dr Adow say, "how many doctors we go need bury bifor doctor act."