Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has dismissed claims that Kenya lost Ksh.11 billion through fraudulent claims under the Social Health Authority (SHA), insisting that the system is now detecting and blocking fraud before public money is lost.
The Ministry of Health has come under renewed scrutiny following reports that billions of shillings may have been siphoned in just six months through fictitious surgeries and suspicious medical claims, raising concerns about whether the new SHA system had truly sealed loopholes that plagued the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive, Duale pushed back against assertions that the money was stolen, saying the claims were detected and rejected before any payments were made.
“As of this evening, we have rejected Ksh.11.6 billion fraudulent claims. Every coin that a Kenyan pays for healthcare insurance, if you try to steal it, the system will detect you, flag you, and the government will prosecute you,” Duale said.
He framed the issue as proof that the system is working, not failing, arguing that fraud detection mechanisms are now strong enough to identify suspicious claims and stop them before funds leave the system.
However, the Cabinet Secretary did not clearly state whether any amount had already been lost, repeatedly focusing on the rejected claims rather than addressing how much money, if any, was paid out fraudulently. He maintained that only about Ksh.1 billion had been approved and paid after what he described as a rigorous verification process.
Duale also addressed the long-standing perception of corruption at the Ministry of Health headquarters, commonly referred to as “Mafia House,” saying his leadership had restored integrity and accountability.
“When I went there, I denied it. After three weeks, I realized there was some truth in why Kenyans called it Mafia House. But today, it is Afya House,” he said.
The CS defended his continued stay in office, stating that there are clear constitutional and legal mechanisms to deal with any wrongdoing.
“Why should I resign? If I do anything contrary to my oath, there are ways of dealing with me — Parliament can impeach me, the criminal justice system can act, or the President can replace me,” he said.
