Duale responds to mounting calls to resign over SHA controversy
By Valerian Khakayi, August 29, 2025Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has pushed back against growing calls for his resignation over the ongoing controversy surrounding the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Speaking during a public event on Friday, August 29, 2025, he dismissed critics who have been demanding his exit, accusing them of pursuing personal interests.
Duale says many calling for his resignation are owners of some of the 133 hospitals that were suspended after being accused of defrauding the medical scheme.
In addition, the CS vowed to continue the fight against the fraudsters.
“Wale wananipinga wananiambia mimi ni jiuzulu wengine wako na hospitali yao nimefunga,mtu ananiambia Duale jiuzulu nimefunga hospitali yake tatu. Ile mahospitali elfu moja mia tatu raisi amesema tumefunga sasa mimi nimetoa kwa government printer, tumegazatte,” Duale said.
He added that some people had enriched themselves by misappropriating money meant for patients. He added that he speaks the truth and seeks justice, stressing that he could never take money that does not belong to him.
“Watu wamekuwa matajiri wakikula pesa ya wagonjwa, mimi ni msema ukweli,mimi ninataka na haki mimi siwezi kula pesa ambaye si yangu,”he addeed.
Duale maintained that the government is committed to streamlining healthcare services under the SHA framework, insisting that the closures were necessary to ensure compliance with set standards.
Duale to MPs
This comes after the CS dismissed the MPs’ concerns over the legality, cost, and transparency of SHA operations, describing them as misleading claims and factual inaccuracies.
In a statement on Thursday, August 28, 2025, the CS accused them of peddling misinformation and seeking to derail reforms in the health sector.
“It is shocking and deeply concerning that Members of Parliament would question the very existence of an Authority established by a law they themselves passed. SHA was created under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, which was debated, passed, and signed into law,” he said.
“The role of Parliament is to make law. The role of the Executive, which I lead in the health sector, is to implement those laws. The establishment and operationalisation of SHA is a direct implementation of the will of the people of Kenya, as expressed through their elected representatives in Parliament. To now disavow this process is to disavow their own legislative mandate.”