Members of the Kenya Moja political movement have called for the immediate resignation of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Social Health Authority (SHA) Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Mwangangi, accusing them of presiding over what they termed a “well-calculated scandal.”
Speaking during a press conference in Nairobi on Wednesday, the leaders claimed that public funds under SHA were being misused, including payments to facilities that no longer operate.
“SHA is a well-calculated scandal. There are facilities that were closed, and they continue receiving money from SHA. For example, Sipili Maternity and Nursing Home, which was shut down following a TV exposé, has received five million shillings,” they said.
The movement further alleged that the corruption was being facilitated through the former National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) system, now under SHA, calling it a betrayal of public trust.
“They are actually using the NHIF system. Enough is enough. We demand the immediate resignation of Aden Duale for conflict of interest, and the CEO of SHA for colluding to steal from Kenyans,” another member stated.
The leaders accused CS Duale of “talking tough” on corruption while being conflicted in the ongoing scandal, insisting that accountability must be enforced at the highest levels of government.
There has been public anger over persistent fraud in the government healthcare scheme, and pressure is mounting on the Health Ministry over questions on how SHA has been paying out claims to hospitals, with concerns of high bills to low-level hospitals and possible ghost facilities.
On Monday, the government pulled down the public portal where anyone could review the monthly payments the authority sent to hospitals in claims, as well as the Kenya Master Health Facility Registry (KMHFR), further fuelling criticism.
Dr Mwangangi on Tuesday announced that SHA had suspended 45 health facilities for defrauding the health system, bringing the total to 85 after 40 were flagged earlier this month.
The suspension came after Duale said claims worth Ksh.3 billion were being re-evaluated due to missing documents, while an additional Ksh.2.1 billion was under surveillance for further investigation.
The CS said his ministry has also rejected Ksh.10.6 billion in claims, citing fraudulent practices such as upcoding, falsification of medical records, conversion of outpatient cases into inpatient admissions, and phantom billing for non-existent patients.
