A section of political leaders in the Senate and National Assembly are now pushing for the resignation of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Social Health Authority Chair Abdi Mohamed for presiding over a multi-billion-shilling fraud scheme.
Led by Kitutu Chache South member of parliament Antoney Kibagendi and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, the lawmakers’ said Kenyans were duped into believing SHA was a reform to replace the National Health Insurance Fund, only for it to emerge as a conduit for looting public money.
The lawmakers said evidence points to a grand cover-up involving ghost hospitals, duplicate clinics and newly registered “briefcase” facilities siphoning public money meant for Kenyans’ healthcare.
At the centre of the storm is the Sh104 billion SHA system, which MPs allege was procured without transparency, despite the fact that upgrading the existing NHIF infrastructure would have cost just Sh700 million.
“We now demand the immediate resignation of CS Adan Duale and the chairman of SHA for being complicit of issues raised and conflict of interest as well as call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into SHA within the next 48 hours,” said Kibagedi.
Kibagendi claimed Duale has links to the company behind the controversial system, while the SHA chair is connected to Ladnan Hospital, which has already pocketed Sh66 million.
The youthful legislators under the Kenya Moja caucus claimed that Duale has direct links to the company contracted to develop the controversial SHA system a deal worth Sh104 billion, while the SHA chairman is tied to Ladnan Hospital, which has already pocketed Sh66 million under the scheme.
This, they said, is a blatant conflict of interest citing Nyandiwa Dispensary, long closed, still being paid, Divine Sparkle Medical Center in Homa Bay receiving Sh2.8 million despite not existing and Hanano Nursing Home allegedly paid over Sh4 million more than Pumwani Hospital even though reports indicate it is fictitious.
Further Sipili Maternity, shut down three years ago, has collected nearly Sh5 million, Wante Nursing Home Limited, registered in February this year, was approved the next day and received Sh3.8 million within two months despite lacking a physical location.
“This is theft by design, not accident,” Kibagendi declared. “SHA is not a reform. It is a scam. Billions are being looted under the guise of universal healthcare.”
The MPs warned that arrears have spiralled out of control, with SHA accumulating Sh43 billion in unpaid claims in just 10 months, pushing the sector’s total debt to Sh75 billion.
They issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the resignation of CS Duale and the SHA chairman, alongside the formation of a commission of inquiry.
“If this is not done, we will call on Kenyans to act. This level of impunity and theft cannot go unchallenged,” the lawmakers warned.
When Parliament resumes, the MPs vowed to summon Duale to answer to what they branded “one of the most brazen corruption rackets in Kenya’s health sector.”
