Khalwale responds to reports of SHA sending Ksh20M wrongly
By David Nthua, August 22, 2025Kakamega County Senator Boniface Khalwale has said the latest reports that the Social Health Authority (SHA) accidentally sent Ksh20 million claims to the wrong hospital were intentional and not mere mistakes.
Through his X handle on Friday, August 22, 2025, the outspoken lawmaker dismissed the government’s explanation, claiming that the health sector was being looted by a cartel within the Executive.
“There is nothing like human error here! This is deliberate, systematic looting by a well-connected cabal within the Executive.
‘Remember, not long ago, Ksh50M of capitation funds was wired to a non-existent Bomet High School! Bure kabisa!” Khalwale posted.
Ghost hospital payments raise questions
Khalwale was responding to a Nation exposé which revealed that Nyandiwa Dispensary in West Kamagak Ward, Homa Bay County, which has been abandoned for nearly ten years, received Ksh19,998,720 in August 2025.
On paper, the facility appeared active, treating patients and submitting claims for reimbursement.
When the Nation team visited the facility, they found a ghostly building with shut doors, overgrown grass and no medical staff. Locals confirmed the dispensary had never been operational.
According to official records, the dispensary was still licensed under the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) as a Level Two hospital, despite its closure.
Homa Bay County’s Director of Public Health, Amos Dullo, admitted the facility had been shut for years, blaming SHA’s system for what he termed a “clerical error.”
He claimed the money was later redirected to Nyandiwa Level Four Hospital, though further anomalies were also identified in allocations to other facilities.
Duale insists it was an error
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale also downplayed the scandal, saying the payment was a result of confusion during the generation of hospital lists.
“It is human error. Nyandiwa Health Centre was never completed or commissioned. The funds were mistakenly channelled using its old bank details,” Duale explained.
But residents expressed shock, with some saying they had even been hired to clear the compound days before the scandal broke, believing the facility was being revived.
The revelations come amid growing scrutiny of SHA disbursements, with questions raised over why ghost facilities and wrongly listed hospitals receive tens of millions while operational health centres struggle to survive.
In response, Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, the Chief Executive Officer of SHA, clarified that no such disbursement was made, and the report lacks a factual basis, hence misleading the public.
“The Social Health Authority (SHA) has noted with concern a misleading article published on August 22, 2025, alleging that SHA disbursed Ksh20 million to a ghost facility. These claims are false, misleading, and undermine basic principles of responsible journalism such as accuracy, fairness, and balance,” the statement read.