Deep-rooted conflict of interests at the Ministry of Health and muzzling of some of the agencies could lead to a loss of billions of shillings.

Health sector players familiar with the details point fingers at Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, demanding that he take full responsibility over the pilferage of government resources.

Others also claim that top officials at the ministry are part of the individuals benefiting from the mess.

Insiders claim that persons close to the centre of power have interests in pharmaceutical and technology companies, including the recently launched National Equipment Service Programme that replaced Medical Equipment Services.

“One of the consortiums providing service under the digital superhighway handling health information exchange and digital registry allegedly has strings with top ministry official,” said an insider.

Ministry staff also told The Standard that Digital Health Authority (DHA), though it is a government agency, subcontracted private companies do the work.

“What Duale has been doing as a minister is giving more prominence to DHA over the Social Health Authority (SHA) in terms of processing of payments and claims, which in turn is exposing all claims processes to private companies,” a ministry official said.

Yesterday, Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) chairperson, Brian Lishenga, accused Duale of failing to manage the ministry.

“He came into the ministry and declared himself a bulldozer, it is this that has made him to fail because instead of building systems, he has been destroying systems. He has not allowed other officers in the ministry to perform their roles,” he said, accusing the CS of overstepping his mandate.

The association also faulted Duale for gazetting facilities and later accusing them of involvement in fraudulent activities. “For us as an association, we believe he should resign because he must take political responsibility for the fraud in SHA,” said Lishenga.

He challenged the CS to pinpoint officers who allowed fraud to happen.

The heat on Duale follows his sentiments that there were fraudulent claims worth Sh10 billion at SHA, a statement that followed gazettement of at least 45 hospitals.

The Health NGOs Network called for the arrest and prosecution of all individuals implicated in fraudulent payments in SHA. The group also demanded a forensic audit and the recovery of the money lost.

John Nyangi, a health economist, said the ministry leadership has been “scattershot and defensive, focusing on blaming whistleblowers rather than confronting the systemic problems, and that the public has rightly lost confidence.”

He said the Sh104 billion investment in advanced technology to strengthen public financial management had failed.

“It is imperative that those responsible take both personal and collective accountability. They must act decisively to restore public trust, address fraudulent claim reimbursements, and ensure that the enormous resources invested actually achieve their intended purpose. Without this, even the most expensive systems will remain ineffective, and the public will continue to bear the cost of leadership failures,” he said.

The Health NGOs Network (HENNET) called for the arrest and prosecution of all individuals implicated in fraudulent payments within SHA. 

Apart from arrests, HENNET wants the money to be recovered and pumped into respective health programs at the county, for transparency.

In a statement, HENNET urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and the Judiciary to act expediently and decisively on the matter.

“Arrest and prosecute hospital proprietors, administrators, and officials involved. Facilities complicit in fraud should have their licenses suspended and operations halted pending investigation. If confirmed, we call for the permanent withdrawal of licenses and prosecution of all personnel involved,” HENNET stated.

The network is also demanding an immediate forensic audit of hospital claims, comparing disbursements against services actually provided and verifying each facility’s status on the Master Facility List (MFL).

HENNET stressed that members of the empanelled oversight committee, claims officers, SHA approval teams, as well as oversight and compliance managers must be identified and held accountable for their roles in the fraudulent schemes.

HENNET expressed alarm at reports of SHA funds being disbursed to facilities that are either falsely licensed, non-operational, or ineligible for high-level services.

For example, Tumticha Medical Centre reportedly received Sh1.5 million despite not being authorized to provide specialised care, while Ladnan Hospital allegedly received Sh66 million—raising serious concerns about oversight and accountability.

“While we commend the Ministry for acknowledging the irregularities and outlining preliminary remedial actions, we remain deeply disturbed by both the scale of financial mismanagement and the human cost of systemic failures within SHA,” the statement added.

HENNET further noted that while some hospitals have received questionable amounts of money, others—such as facilities in Murang’a and other counties—have been left starved of critical resources.

The network warned that SHA must not be allowed to degenerate into a scandal-ridden entity, stressing that amid growing demand for quality healthcare in Kenya, this is a critical moment for bold corrective action and a turning point to reaffirm ethical leadership in the health sector.