Njeri Maina to Duale: Gachagua will respond to you accordingly
By Ascah Mwango, August 26, 2025Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has criticised Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale over the ongoing Social Health Authority (SHA) scandal, pointing out that Democratic Change Party leader and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua would address him directly.
In her statement shared on X on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Maina made it clear that with Gachagua now in the country, Duale should expect a strong response from him.
“Now that the leader of Wantam is here, you shall be responded to accordingly,” Maina stated.
Duale speaks
Her remarks come after the Ministry of Health announced it had rejected fraudulent and non-compliant medical claims amounting to Ksh10.6 billion. Duale described the move as a major step in the government’s anti-fraud campaign in the health sector.
“These claims were found to violate Section 48(5) of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, which outlines penalties for providers who knowingly or fraudulently alter information to defraud the Authority. Our position on safeguarding public resources has been consistent, clear, and unwavering. Fraud has no place in our health sector,” Duale said in a statement released on Monday, August 25, 2025.
The crackdown is part of efforts to strengthen transparency in the Social Health Insurance Fund, the main pillar of the TaifaCare program launched on October 1, 2024. The initiative was meant to guarantee affordable healthcare for all Kenyans.
According to ministry figures, health facilities have submitted claims worth Ksh82.7 Out of this, Ksh53 billion has already been paid, while Ksh6.4 billion has been approved and is awaiting payment. Claims worth Ksh7.6 shillings from August remain under review.
Besides the Ksh10.6 billion already rejected, another Ksh3 billion in claims are being re-evaluated due to missing documents, while Ksh2 billion has been flagged for surveillance.
“Every shilling contributed to the Social Health Insurance Fund must go towards legitimate, life-saving healthcare,” Duale said.
Wide cracks in SHA
The revelations have fueled public anger amid growing suspicions that billions of shillings meant for healthcare have been lost through fraudulent claims and fictitious hospitals.
SHA was established to replace the troubled National Health Insurance Fund, which was dissolved after years of mismanagement and corruption. However, similar claims of fraud have already begun to taint the new authority.
In March this year, SHA disbursed 11.4 billion shillings to hospitals across the country. Questions soon emerged after small private facilities were found to have received unusually large amounts. Civil society groups and doctors’ unions warned that some of the facilities did not exist, while others exaggerated claims.
Investigations later revealed falsified patient records, duplicate claims, ghost patients, and inflated bed capacities. In one shocking case, funds were reportedly disbursed to a hospital that turned out to be nothing more than a thicket.
On August 7, a Kenya Gazette notice listed 40 hospitals suspended from the SHA program following a forensic audit. Twelve doctors and clinicians were also blocked over their alleged involvement in fraudulent activities.
Despite SHA’s denial of some reports, such as claims that Nyandiwa Hospital received 20 million shillings, public outrage has continued to grow.
Oversight institutions have also raised concerns. Earlier this year, the Auditor General faulted the procurement of SHA’s digital platform, saying weak controls and irregular tendering created loopholes for fraud. Civil society groups have echoed these findings, warning that the lack of competitive bidding made the system vulnerable to exploitation.
The unfolding scandal has drawn comparisons to the National Health Insurance Fund, which a court ruled in May 2025 had suffered years of fraud involving ghost patients, inflated claims, and unpaid bills that crippled many hospitals.