President William Ruto has dismissed claims that KSh 50 billion was lost under the Social Health Authority (SHA), calling the reports misleading and politically motivated.
The controversy arose after an Auditor-General’s report flagged about KSh 49.3 billion in transactions as irregular or unsupported, sparking public debate over the new health financing system.
The flagged funds included KSh 26.8 billion in expected medical service payments not yet invoiced, KSh 7.3 billion in unauthorised claims under the Public Officers Medical Scheme, and other discrepancies involving transfers and unapproved service codes. Despite these figures, Ruto rejected the notion that public money had been lost.
“Forget about the propaganda in the headline of the news that we lost KSh 50 billion. People are mad. If we lose KSh 50 billion, it means there will be nothing to pay, and no hospitals,” he said.
The president stressed that payments to healthcare facilities continue under the SHA system, noting that KSh 16.2 billion would be disbursed in the week alone to support Primary Healthcare services and the Social Health Insurance Fund. He emphasised that the system remains operational and continues to ease healthcare costs for citizens.
Health CS Aden Duale also defended the SHA, arguing that the audit figures mostly reflect accounting estimates and legitimate payments rather than missing funds.
Duale highlighted that hospitals with valid NHIF contracts were allowed to continue serving patients during the transition to SHA, and criticised media reports for misrepresenting the audit findings, warning that sensational reporting could create unnecessary public panic.
