From rags to scrubs: Tale of slum kid turned doctor

He was born in the sprawling slum of Dandora Phase II in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. His mother worked for the defunct Nairobi City Council and raised her three children on the modest paychecque.

Dr Abidan Mwachi, the chairperson of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union, says despite growing up in a slum, he always aspired to be a doctor. He clears his throat and begins the interview from behind his desk at his home office in Nyali, Mombasa.

“My mother was a cleaner at the municipal council markets. That job is how she raised the three of us—my elder brother, myself and my younger sister. We all went to Wangu Primary School, which borders the dumpsite, fence,” he recalls.

A bright student, Mwachi scored 565 marks out of a possible 700 in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams and was set to join Starehe Boys’ Centre, a national school.

Now a consultant general and laparoscopic surgeon at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa, he still doesn’t understand how he missed the opportunity to join Starehe, where he would have received a fully sponsored education.

“I remember walking from Dandora to Starehe Boys’ Centre to meet the then director, Geoffrey Griffin. While waiting at the reception, a firm-looking man stepped out. He seemed busy and there were many people waiting for him,” he says.

“He asked what had brought us there and I explained my situation. Unfortunately, he said there was nothing he could do. I think my spot had already been given to someone else.”

A few weeks later, Mwachi received an admission letter for Sunshine Secondary School, a newly established institution then.

“At that time, my mother had only Sh20,000, while Sunshine required Sh80,000 per term. But with that Sh20,000 and armed with hope and faith, she still took me to Sunshine,” he says.

“I joined Sunshine Secondary School with Sh20,000 from my mother and most importantly, prayers and determination. I had joined late—probably a few weeks before the end-term exams—but I still outperformed many students,” he recalls.

The school management, recognising his potential, decided not to send him home for fees.

“By the second term, they allowed me to continue. I kept excelling, becoming the top student in my class.”

A few months later, Mwachi was awarded a full presidential bursary for the rest of his high school education.

“I never paid a single cent afterward. I was the best student in my class and overall index three in KCSE. Eventually, I became the head school captain, leading until 2003,” he says.

Mwachi was among the top students in the country when he sat his KCSE exams, scoring an A.

“I sat for eight subjects, scoring seven A’s and one A-minus. When applying for university, I was intentional—I wanted to study medicine,” he says.

“I remember having to walk from Dandora Phase II to a Catholic-run dispensary in Kariobangi when my tonsillitis flared up. I could barely swallow anything. I passed by so many private clinics that could have easily administered a simple painkiller, but none did. That experience inspired me to pursue medicine.”

While waiting to join the university, Mwachi returned to Sunshine Secondary School, where he worked as a computer lab assistant for two years, earning Sh7,000 per month.

“I had little knowledge of computers beyond basic packages, but I was determined to learn. I saved most of my earnings and in 2005, joined the University of Nairobi to study medicine.”

To finance his education, Mwachi relied on loans from the Higher Education Loans Board. “HELB would give us Sh16,000 per semester and I had to budget carefully, borrowing where necessary,” he says.

In his fourth year, Mwachi ventured into student politics and was elected to the Student Organisation of Nairobi University national executive committee as a senate representative.

“I was voted as the campus rep for the College of Health Sciences.” He later interned at the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa.

“During my final year at university, we founded what is now the KMPDU with like-minded doctors,” he says.

In its formative years, KMPDU faced opposition from the Kenya Union of Civil Servants, which argued that doctors, as civil servants, should remit union fees.

“However, we managed to overcome that. As they say, the rest is history. In 2011, while I was still an intern at Coast General, we organised our first national doctors’ strike. Our grievances boiled down to one major issue—doctors were poorly paid and overworked,” he says.

At the time, the public hospitals had only 2,500 doctors. “Many doctors didn’t want to work for the government. That strike raised doctors’ salaries from Sh40,000 to over Sh100,000, making government jobs more competitive. More doctors moved from private practice to the public sector, just as devolution was taking shape.”

Mwachi grew within the union, serving as a NEC member, deputy secretary general and later as acting national secretary general when Dr Sultani Matendechero resigned.

“I held the acting SG position for a year, organised elections, then returned to the Coast in 2016 to serve as the branch secretary,” he says.

He pursued postgraduate studies in surgery, completing the program in 2021. During this time, he established Montana Hospital in Kisauni, Mombasa, a lower-middle-class area.

“My experiences in Dandora taught me that chasing money is futile. My priority was providing healthcare, knowing that money would follow.”

The hospital grew from a small outpatient clinic with one consultation room to a Level 3 facility with 40 beds, a fully functional theater, a laboratory and a pharmacy.

“Now, around 25-30 boda boda operators work near the hospital, shops have sprung up and security has improved,” he says.

In 2022, Mwachi vied for the position of national chairman of KMPDU. “Coming in as a person with institutional history, I had seen the challenges I had experienced in my arms...and I was obstinate that I was the person to lead the union in the capacity of chairman.”

Reflecting on the union’s growth, Mwachi says KMPDU has filled big shoes and is now “the most influential union in Kenya. When we speak, the nation listens.”

Mwachi, now married with three children, believes Kenya’s public health sector can be transformed, but corruption remains a major obstacle.

“The rushed transition from the National Hospital Insurance Fund to the Social Health Insurance Fund and Social Health Authority failed to address the root issues with NHIF.”

Programmes should be well piloted, he says, with meaningful stakeholder engagement, not to tick the boxes but with a view of strengthening the system.

The challenges with SHIF and SHA was the manner in which it was drastically implemented,” he says. Mwachi harbours ambitions of joining national politics one day.

“I won’t reveal much now, but the aspirations are there. 2027? Absolutely not. I believe in planning. Having led KMPDU, I want a leadership role that influences society in a meaningful way.”