NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 19 — Drama unfolded on live television Wednesday as Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei enlisted Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to respond on air during a heated debate over the Social Health Authority (SHA).
The exchange, which also involved Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni, was broadcast on TV47 and focused on allegations that private health facilities were rejecting the SHA program due to delayed payments.
“Let me call Waziri Duale so that we know the truth,” Cherargei said as the host, Debarl Inea, agreed.
On speakerphone, Cherargei addressed Duale asking him to respond to Omogeni’s claim.
“Hello Waziri, I’m on air with Senator Okong’o Omogeni. He alleges that private facilities have rejected SHA.”
Duale strongly refuted the claims, noting that SHA has contracts with 9,426 health facilities nationwide, including faith-based, public, and private institutions.
“The majority—about 67 per cent—are private facilities, from level 2 to level 6, including Agha Khan, Nairobi West, and the Nairobi Hospital,” he said.
He emphasized that no facility can survive without SHA support.
“If any contracted facility denies services to Kenyans, we will not only terminate their SHA contract but also report them to the regulator to revoke their license. This is criminal,” Duale added.
According to the CS, SHA recently paid Sh11 billion, most of which went to private facilities. He also revealed that 1,300 facilities were closed due to fraud, with the highest cases in Mandera, Wajir, Kisii, Homa Bay, Nairobi, and Kisumu counties.
“We have flagged 1,105 Kenyans with multiple beneficiaries in the system. Some women submitted over 120 husbands, and some men reported spouses between 26 and 72. The system only allows four spouses,” Duale noted.
Omogeni challenged the CS on patient benefits, citing public hospitals in Nyamira that could not offer certain services, forcing residents to use private hospitals.
Duale explained that SHA covers inpatient and outpatient services, including specialized care such as dialysis (three sessions per week), but no insurance system pays 100 percent of all costs.
“No insurance company in the country pays 100 per cent of bills. The health system in Nyamira has collapsed,” he said.