Kenyan Nurse in UK Fired After Viral Video of Her Dancing on Duty, Ignites Diaspora Debate

Country: United Kingdom
Date Published: December 19, 2025

A Kenyan nurse working in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) has been sacked following a viral video showing her dancing exuberantly while on shift, sparking heated discussions among Kenyans abroad and at home about workplace culture, work-life balance, and racial biases in Western healthcare systems. The incident, which exploded on X (formerly Twitter) overnight, centers on 28-year-old Mercy Wanjiku, who posted the clip on her personal account @MercyNurseUK, captioned "Keeping spirits high during night shift vibes! 💃🏾 #NHS #KenyanExcellence." Within hours, the video amassed over 250,000 views, 15,000 likes, and thousands of retweets, drawing both praise for her energy and swift backlash from UK-based accounts accusing her of unprofessionalism.

The controversy erupted when NHS management at a Manchester hospital identified Wanjiku through the video and terminated her employment on grounds of breaching conduct policies, as confirmed in a statement shared widely by verified news outlet @BBCNews and Kenyan diaspora influencer @DennisOkari (with 1.2M followers). Okari's thread, posted at 2:14 PM GMT on December 19, dissected the firing, questioning if the response would have been the same for a non-Black staff member and highlighting similar viral moments from white nurses that went unpunished. "Is this about dancing or about a Black woman owning her joy at work?" Okari wrote, fueling over 5,000 quote tweets. Regular users like @UKKenyansAbroad chimed in with personal stories, alleging systemic racism, while others defended the NHS, arguing patient safety comes first.

Kenyans living abroad flooded X with mixed reactions, turning #MercyNurseUK into a trending topic in Kenya and the UK by evening. Positive posts celebrated Wanjiku's spirit, with @K24Tv tweeting a clip of her previous community health drives in Manchester, garnering 8,000 likes: "From saving lives to lighting up timelines—Mecy embodies Kenyan hustle abroad." Conversely, critics like @BritishNHSWatchdog posted screenshots of NHS guidelines, insisting the dance occurred in a ward hallway near patients, calling it "irresponsible." Diaspora group chats and threads, such as one by @KenyaDiasporaForum with 2,700 replies, debated broader issues: the pressures on overworked migrant nurses, who make up 18% of the NHS workforce, and cultural clashes between African expressiveness and British restraint.

As of December 20 morning, Wanjiku addressed the backlash in a follow-up X post, stating she was " heartbroken but not broken," and announced plans to appeal the dismissal while starting a GoFundMe for legal fees, which had already raised £12,000 in hours. The story continues to trend, with Kenyan MPs like @HonWajackoyah weighing in supportively and UK tabloids picking it up. This incident underscores ongoing tensions for Kenyan professionals abroad—over 500,000 strong in the UK alone—who contribute billions in remittances but face scrutiny in high-stakes jobs, as dissected in real-time X conversations blending solidarity, outrage, and calls for accountability.