The Ministry of Health has been granted stay orders on the High Court’s judgment, allowing the planned rollout of the Social Health Authority to proceed on 1st October 2024.
The Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Ministry, affirming that their appeal holds merit. โIn these complex circumstances, we are inclined to grant a stay as the High Court decision is reviewed by this Court, pending an authoritative ruling on the validity of the three statutes.
We base this decision on the fact that these statutes have been in effect for nine months, and reverting to the old framework only to potentially return to the current one if the appeal succeeds would place this critical sector in a state of uncertainty.โThe judges stated.
In July, the High Court declared the Social Health Insurance Act unconstitutional due to insufficient public participation in its creation.
The Court gave Parliament 120 days to rectify the Act, ensuring compliance with constitutional requirements for public participation and addressing other unconstitutional sections.
This ruling followed another decision by the Court to temporarily halt the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) for school children, after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) challenged the Ministries of Education and Health directive to impose the scheme. .
