The Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, has dismissed social media allegations that the Social Health Authority (SHA) has been making payments to non-existent or non-operational healthcare facilities.
Speaking on Monday, August 25, Duale termed the claims as information his ministry already possesses through legitimate channels.
The Health CS clarified that most facilities being questioned on social media platforms had already been closed, suspended, or downgraded by health regulators in May.
"The facilities you found circulating on social media are facilities that the majority of them were closed in May, and you can check with the regulator's website, or with the DHA, they were closed," Duale stated.
He revealed that regulatory action had been taken against healthcare facilities across multiple counties, including Mandera County, Homabay County, Kisii County, Wajir County, Nairobi County, Bungoma County, and Kisumu County.
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Duale's clarification follows intense social media scrutiny over SHA payment allocations to various healthcare facilities.
A whistleblower, Nelson Amenya, claimed on social media in March that “Ladnan hospital associated with chairman of SHA Abdi Mohamed allocated his Wajir hospital a whopping 52 million in one month, more than KUTRRH and MTRH combined.”
Another user alleged that the “SHA Chairperson allocated 66M in his own private hospital in Wajir, LADNAN, whereas the entire Trans-Nzoia County received 812k out of 100M owed by SHA. The discrepancies are all over the country. SHA is a scheme to loot from innocent Kenyans!"
Social media investigations revealed concerning findings about some of the facilities receiving SHA payments.
One user posted, "Ladnan hospital Wajr received 66m from Sha. It's owned by Abdul Mohamed, the Sha chairman. Sha is a scam!" with accompanying images showing what appeared to be a modest healthcare facility.
Another investigative post described visiting ‘Trenya Hospital,’ a 'hospital on a phone, ' and found what looked like a building under construction.
“No staff working, no lights connected, a ghost place,” the user noted.
The allegations extended beyond individual facilities to systemic concerns about SHA's payment processes.
Social media users questioned how facilities allegedly connected to SHA leadership received substantial allocations while entire counties received minimal funding.
CS Duale addressed the concern and confirmed that Abdi Mohamed used to own Ladnan Hospital but dismissed any conflict of interest.
"Social Health Authority (SHA) chairman Abdi Mohamed used to own Ladnan Hospital; there is no conflict of interest," Duale noted.
Further, a local media house visited Nyandiwa Hospital, where SHA disbursed Ksh20 million, only to find a non-operational facility. This raises questions about the verification processes for SHA payments.
Area residents expressed shock, explaining that they had been waiting nearly a decade for the health center to become operational, hoping it would address their healthcare challenges and create employment opportunities there.
"That is a surprise, breaking news to me. That is very, that is so concerning. How is it working? How is it funded? For what? When we talk about funds, we don't expect to come and see the cash; we expect to see the hospital working. So this is a waste project," said one resident.
Addressing these concerns, Duale maintained that his ministry was aware of the issues raised through official channels.
"So what the Kenyans' social media are telling us, you are telling us information that already we have by one genuine Kenyans who come to us every day, who report to us every day, who have become our whistleblower and what they tell us is exactly what our system, our forensic auditors have picked," he explained.
Defending his ministry's anti-fraud measures, Duale assured Kenyans of his commitment to fighting healthcare fraud while maintaining service delivery.
"So good people, me and the men and women who work with me here, we are on one serious obligation - we will fight fraud and provide free, affordable, accessible healthcare," he stated. “Ksh9 billion has been paid for primary healthcare, 7.7 billion has been paid, and 1.3 billion will be paid; we are just waiting for the national treasury to release the money to the PS for him to release.”
He also addressed concerns about delayed payments to legitimate facilities, particularly those serving public servants.
"I know some facilities service our public servants who have not been paid. I want to assure them that between us, representing the social health authority, the minister of public service, and the national treasury, we are concluding that process by the end of this week," Duale promised, emphasizing the ministry's commitment to resolving payment delays for genuine healthcare providers.
