Otieno: DCI parade ordinary hustlers, but those who preside over ghost hospitals enjoy protection
By Ascah Mwango, September 2, 2025Lawyer Willis Otieno has accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and other state agencies of protecting powerful government officials implicated in corruption while relentlessly pursuing ordinary citizens for petty crimes.
In a statement shared on his X account on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Otieno said the justice system in Kenya is compromised and designed to protect the political elite.
“Duale, Dr. Abdi Mohamed and Mercy Mwangangi sit within the political and bureaucratic shield of the regime. The DCI knows very well that if it dares to move against them, the case will be quietly killed by the State House before it even reaches court,” Otieno stated.
He added that ordinary citizens bear the brunt of selective justice.
“That’s why you see ordinary hustlers paraded in handcuffs for stealing a chicken, but those who preside over Ksh24 billion ghost hospitals enjoy protection, motorcades, and VIP security,” he said.
According to him, the DCI and other watchdog bodies have lost independence and are reduced to tools of the Executive.
“DCI is not independent. It takes instructions from the same Executive implicated in the theft. EACC and ODPP play along; they arrest the small fish to create a show, while the whales swim free. Accountability is selective. If you are outside power, they will dramatise your arrest; if you are inside power, they will dramatise your innocence. So the DCI won’t arrest them, not because it can’t, but because the thieves and the police answer to the same master,” he said.
Scandalous health care scheme
Otieno’s remarks come at a time when public anger is mounting over the Social Health Authority (SHA) scandal that has exposed massive looting of healthcare funds.
The Social Health Authority, which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) in October 2024, has been rocked by revelations of grand corruption. Investigations and audits have shown that more than Ksh10.6 billion was lost through fraudulent claims made by non-existent hospitals and fake patient records.
Some health facilities billed for services never offered, while others submitted inflated invoices. In one case, SHA wired Ksh 20 million to a suspicious entity described only as “a thicket.”
The scandal has also drawn attention to a Ksh104.8 billion contract for SHA’s digital healthcare system, which was awarded without competitive bidding and shockingly handed system ownership to contractors instead of the Authority.
So far, SHA has suspended about 40 health facilities and blacklisted 12 doctors believed to be behind the fraudulent claims. However, transparency concerns deepened after SHA and the Ministry of Health pulled down the online registry of approved health facilities and payment lists, sparking fears of a cover-up.
The scandal has divided the political class. Opposition leaders and civil society have described it as a national security threat, demanding accountability from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale. On the other hand, President William Ruto has dismissed claims of ghost hospital fraud and defended SHA.