Kenyan Nurse in UK Fired After Viral Video Exposes NHS Shortages, Sparks Diaspora Debate on Exploitation

Country: United Kingdom
Date Published: November 27, 2025

A Kenyan nurse working in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) has become the center of a heated online storm after a viral video she posted on X (formerly Twitter) exposed chronic staffing shortages and grueling work conditions at a London hospital. Grace Muthoni, who has lived in the UK for over five years, shared the footage on November 25, 2025, showing empty wards and exhausted colleagues during a night shift, captioning it: "From Kenya's public hospitals to UK's NHS—same story, different accent. We diaspora nurses are breaking our backs for peanuts. #KenyansInUK #NHSCrisis." The post quickly amassed over 50,000 views, 10,000 likes, and retweets from influencers like @KenyansAbroadKE and verified news account @CitiFMKenya, igniting discussions among the Kenyan diaspora.

Muthoni's dismissal was confirmed in follow-up posts on November 27, with her stating, "Fired today for speaking truth. But the video stays up—who's with me?" sparking outrage. Users like @DiasporaWatchKE (a popular account with 20k followers) replied, "This is modern slavery! Kenyans slaving abroad while govt ignores us," while others defended the NHS, accusing her of breaching confidentiality. The thread drew responses from UK-based Kenyans sharing similar stories, including a nurse from Manchester who posted, "Happened to me last year—12-hour shifts unpaid overtime. Send us back home?" Verified Kenyan journalist @LarryMadowo amplified it, tweeting, "UK's NHS relies on African nurses but treats them like disposables. Grace's story is every diaspora's nightmare."

The controversy highlights broader challenges faced by Kenyan healthcare workers abroad, with X users pointing to data from recent threads showing over 15,000 Kenyans in the UK healthcare sector, many on exploitative visas. Positive notes emerged too, as supporters launched a GoFundMe linked in replies, raising £5,000 in 24 hours for Muthoni's legal fees, with donors praising her bravery. Influencer @WanjikuRevolt celebrated her as a "hero exposing the matrix," while critics argued she should have used internal channels. Trending under #JusticeForGraceMuthoni, the discussion has crossed 200,000 impressions, blending solidarity with calls for Kenyan embassy intervention.

As the story unfolds, Muthoni vowed in a live X Space on November 27—attended by 1,200 listeners—to fight her unfair dismissal, urging fellow diaspora Kenyans to unionize. UK news accounts like @BBCBreaking picked up echoes, but the epicenter remains X, where regular users from Nairobi to New York debate the perils and pride of life abroad. Kenyan MP @OkiyaOmtatah even chimed in, questioning bilateral labor agreements, amplifying the call for reform amid the viral frenzy.