On Monday, April 20, 2026, the new board of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) was officially inaugurated by the Secretary of the Health Cabinet, Duale Aden, which is a significant move in the efforts by the government to introduce improved patient safety and regulatory control. In the swearing-in ceremony at Afya House, CS Duale charged the newly formed council with the responsibility of ensuring that there are stringent ethical and professional behaviors in the medical and dentistry professions.
On March 27, 2026, the term of the previous council ended, and a new board was appointed by Prof. Frederick Namenya Were. Prof. Were is a respected pediatrician and the head of the team of professionals comprising of Director General Health Dr. Patrick Amoth, Prof. Marion Mutugi and Mr. Livingston Bumbe. The team will be instrumental in shaping medical practice to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and universal health coverage (UHC) objectives of Kenya.
The safety of the Kenyan patient is our main duty according to CS Aden Duale. The new KMPDC board should make sure that no health facility is found working beyond the confines of the law and that all the practitioners are expected to follow the best practices in clinical excellence.
We are shifting towards a system in which accountability and transparency are the pillars of our healthcare delivery.The first big job of the council is to digitize practitioner licensing and implement the 2026 practice license renewals. The board will also be in charge of registering ambulances and emergency care staff to harmonize emergency medical services across the country.
Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni and KMPDC CEO David Kariuki attended the ceremony and reiterated the ministry support of the regulatory mandate of the council.
