A judge in Kenya [BBC backgrounder] has sentenced the leaders of the doctors’ union to one month in prison over an ongoing strike.. The strike, which was started by the union over pay and service conditions, has continued since December. Judge Hellen Wasilwa had initially handed a one-month suspended sentence in January, stating that the doctors had two weeks to end the strike [JURIST report] or she would enforce the sentence. The dispute arose over a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) [Standard Media report] from 2013. Under the terms of the CBA the government had agreed to give doctors 150-180 percent pay raise, review working conditions and promotion criteria, as well as address under-staffing in state hospitals. However, the CBA was never implemented. The government had offered [Al Jazeera report] a 40 percent pay raise when the strike commenced, but the doctors say will not end their strike under the CBA is implemented.

Kenya has faced criticism for its treatment of protesters, though this strike has been peaceful. In November a group of UN human rights experts condemned reported violence [JURIST report] against anti-corruption protesters and journalists in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. President Uhuru Kenyatta has particularly come under fire for violence against protesters. Last year the ICC withdrew charges [JURIST report] against Kenyatta, who was accused of crimes against humanity for post-election violence, but indicated it would renew the charges if presented with enough evidence. In response to the charges against Kenyatta, the African Union unanimously resolved [JURIST report] in 2013 that African heads of state should be immune from prosecution by the ICC. Also in 2013 Kenya’s National Assembly approved a motion [JURIST report] to leave the ICC.