Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale, on Wednesday, January 28, accused hospitals of being the masterminds of the billions missing from the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Speaking during the Members of Parliament Retreat in Naivasha, Duale addressed a report by local dailies that Sh11 billion was looted from SHA, explaining that the money was lost after the national insurance provider paid for nonexistent claims by health facilities.
According to him, the loot happened when the SHA system was in its infancy period between October 2024 and April 2025.
“The Sh11 billion lost is in the sense that some hospitals submitted claims, but we caught them. Some of them have gone to court, and some of them have agreed to return our money, but we are not done with them.
“We have the names of the institutions which we can publish. Most of the loss comes from rejections because they made claims for services that they have not offered, and many other things that I informed you on,” he told the MPs.
Duale noted that private hospitals were the most notorious for submitting these claims, followed by public facilities and even national referral hospitals like the Kenyatta National Hospital. He lauded faith-based medical facilities as they reported the fewest cases.
The CS confirmed that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was aiding with investigations and vowed to recover every single sent stolen from the fund. Meanwhile, some of the hospitals have been removed from SHA.
Medical facilities were called out for putting patients’ lives at risk to get higher claims. MPs questioned why most medical facilities forced mothers to undergo caesarean sections as opposed to normal births, even when it was unnecessary.
Duale intimated that so far, the Ministry of Health has closed down 1,118 facilities. He explained that the introduction of the Green Label Chart will also curb the misreporting of claims.
The reports attracted criticism from other lawmakers. Mumias East MP Peter Salasya claimed that the looting of the billions was a manifestation that the healthcare system had collapsed under President William Ruto’s administration.
Salasya called for Ruto to sack CS Duale and his team. On his part, Irungu Nyakera claimed that SHA was created as a new channel to loot public funds.
