The Board of the Social Health Authority (SHA) has appointed CPA Pariken Ole Sankei as the new Director of Internal Audit, following a competitive selection process that began late July.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 29, SHA Board Chair Abdi Mohamed said Sankei’s appointment followed a transparent selection process aimed at strengthening the Authority’s governance and accountability framework.
The Board of Social Health Authority is pleased to inform the appointment of CPA Pariken Ole Sankei as Director of Internal Audit. The appointment of this key post went through an open and merit-based recruitment process that commenced on July 29, 2025,” the statement partially stated.
Sankei has acted as Director of Internal Audit and now assumes the role full-time.
He has more than two decades of audit and financial management experience, having worked as Head of Internal Audit at the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Public Service Commission (PSC), and Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration, and is both a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Public Secretary (CPS).
Mohamed noted that Sankei’s extensive background would be instrumental in advancing SHA’s mission of ensuring financial protection and equitable access to healthcare for all Kenyans.
His experience will prove vital as he becomes part of the senior leadership team in spearheading the Authority’s mandate of providing financial protection and strategic procurement of healthcare services to all Kenyans,” Mohamed stated.
Sankei takes office at a period of ongoing public controversy following an SHA employee, Andrew Rotich, being excluded from a shortlist for the position of Acting Deputy Director of Forensic Audit and Risk Assurance.
Rotich had previously exposed a multi-billion-shilling fraud at the Authority, leading to the closure of over 1,300 hospitals that had engaged in bogus billing.
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) had complained about the claimed shutout, citing that professionals could be discouraged from acting as whistleblowers by this.
But Dennis Itumbi, Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, downplayed the reports as unaccurate.
Andrew Rotich never expressed interest in Deputy Director, as the Nation alleges. He reported to work for Assistant Director and has already been shortlisted for interview.
The Nation proclaims itself the Home of Truth, but lies are the order of the day,” Itumbi claimed in a rebuttal to the publication.
