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Hospitalised Michael Makarina narrates how SHA failed him
15th July, 2025 05:52 PM
Disability activist and political strategist Michael Makarina has launched a scathing attack on the government’s Social Health Authority (SHA) programme.
He has described SHA as hollow and dysfunctional after his attempts to use the cover failed during a medical emergency.
In a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, on what is now his fourth day in hospital, Makarina shared a personal account that painted a grim picture of the reality he said many Kenyans face when seeking urgent healthcare.
Makarina said he was admitted at midnight in a weak and overwhelmed state, only to discover that the health schemes meant to protect him and millions of Kenyans could not offer timely assistance.
His wife, he said, tried desperately to access help through SHA and SHIF but was met with system delays and inaction.
“Let me say this from the deepest part of my heart, not for clout, not for PR, but because truth must be told. I reported to the hospital at midnight. I was in pain, overwhelmed and weak. My wife was running up and down, trying to push things through SHA and SHIF. She tried. But nothing was moving. The system failed us in our hour of need,” Makarina wrote.
Describing the health cover as an illusion, he criticised the amount it promised, calling it peanuts and claiming it was so minimal that he spends a similar amount on a single phone call.
“The so-called health cover was promising peanuts, a figure so small, I use that amount to make one phone call. That’s when I saw the system for what it is: a big name but no muscle,” he added.
George Kinoti’s aid
In a surprising twist, Makarina revealed that former DCI boss George Kinoti came to his rescue, clearing the full hospital admission bill on the spot.
He praised Kinoti’s swift intervention as a gesture of brotherhood, noting that the help came instantly without questions or delays.
“Former DCI Boss George Kinoti saw my post, called immediately and told my wife, ‘Mama, relax. I got this.’ He cleared the full hospital admission bill not because I couldn’t afford it but for the brotherhood we’ve shared over the years. Just like that… Not tomorrow, not next week – immediately,” he said.
Despite the financial help, Makarina emphasised that his frustration was not about personal affordability but about the government’s failure to deliver basic services to its people.
He accused the state of losing touch with reality and warned that the frustration and anger among citizens is rooted in lived experience, not propaganda.
“SHA is not working. SHIF is a sweet story in press conferences but a nightmare at the ground level. That is why wananchi are frustrated, angry, and disillusioned. The government is losing the people not because of propaganda but because of its own failure to fix the basics,” he wrote.
Now in his fourth day of hospitalisation, Makarina has vowed to keep speaking on behalf of ordinary Kenyans, insisting that when systems collapse, it is the families — the wives and the children — who carry the weight.
“As for me, I will continue to speak for the mwananchi wa kawaida, because when systems collapse, it is our wives, our children, and our families that carry the weight,” he concluded.
Author
Steve Ireri
Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on the showbiz and human interest stories. Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
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