Nyeri Town MP defends CS Duale, blames KMPDC for SHA scandal
By David Nthua, September 1, 2025Nyeri Town Member of Parliament Duncan Mathenge, on Monday, September 1, 2025, appeared to defend Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale from blame over the ongoing Social Health Authority (SHA) scam.
Speaking to a local TV station, the UDA-allied legislator said responsibility for the fraud lies elsewhere, specifically with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC).
Mathenge explained that the law clearly spells out the procedure once a health facility is licensed, stressing that SHA is not mandated to undertake further verification beyond contract signing.
“Under the new law, once a facility has been registered and licensed by the KMPDC, it is eligible to be contracted by SHA without any additional steps, other than signing the contract document.
“Therefore, the question arises as to who will then assume responsibility for ghost hospitals and patients, despite their registration and licensing,” Mathenge stated.
He further raised suspicion over why the KMPDC master register was suddenly withdrawn from public access, noting that Kenyans had every right to transparency.
“We are very suspicious. They had the Kenya hospitals master register because when Kenyans started raising issues, why was that register removed, or members of the public barred from accessing it?
“What is KMPDC hiding? In that register, the geolocation of all hospitals was there,” he added.
Broader questions on the SHA scandal
The legislator’s remarks come amid growing pressure on Duale, with critics demanding accountability over reports that ghost hospitals were paid millions of shillings under the SHA.
Mathenge, however, insisted that unless KMPDC accounts for how fake facilities found their way into the system, blame directed at the Health CS would be misplaced.
His comments add a new layer to the debate, as some lawmakers have accused the Ministry of Health of negligence, while others point to systemic failures across regulatory bodies.
Kenyans have continued to demand answers on how taxpayer funds could be funnelled to non-existent facilities.
While Duale has maintained that digitisation within SHA will expose fraudulent claims, MPs like Mathenge now argue that unless KMPDC comes clean, the credibility of health sector regulation will remain in question.