Nairobi, April 5 -- Kituo cha Sheria has joined the legal battle over the doctors' strike, seeking to have the union's top officials jailed for contempt of court.

In the case filed under a certificate of urgency, the rights body accuses the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU) of flagrantly disobeying a High Court order suspending the nationwide strike that has paralysed treatment in all public health facilities.

The order by Justice Byram Ongaya of March 13 declared the doctors' strike "illegal" and directed KMPDU to suspend it.

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Kituo cha Sheria, through a veteran legal practitioner Dr John Khaminwa, says the actions of the doctors "are m...