You will not derail SHA – President Ruto tells critics
By Raphael Wanjala
Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto has said that those against the new medical cover under the Social Health Authority (SHA) will not derail his plan to implement it.
President William Ruto said that critics were busy trying to discredit the new medical scheme in an attempt to ensure that it fails, saying that they will not succeed.
“Those criticising the rollout of SHA in an attempt to derail it will be surprised as this will be rolled out effectively,” he said.
President Ruto claimed that those opposed to the roll out of the new medical scheme for the public were beneficiaries of the old system under the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
He said that the beneficiaries were worried since they would not be getting any money through fictitious claims as was the case in the previous system.
President Ruto further dismissed reports that the government spent a total of KSh104 billion to procure the Social Health Authority (SHA) system.
He said no funds from the government will be used to pay for the system except for the service facility fee.
He explained that the system is run by a consortium of technology companies that will make sure there are no fraudulent claims, as was the case with NHIF.
The President said that under the previous NHIF scheme, almost 40 per cent of fund raised were lost to unscrupulous individuals who made false claims and were paid.
“Because we want to sort out the problem of fraud of the past. Money that was collected by NHIF was stolen by fraudsters through fraudulent claims which claimed almost 40% of the money that was being raised by NHIF. That will not happen as long as I’m the President of Kenya. That is why we said we are going to have a consortium of technology companies that is going to make sure there are no fraudulent claims in SHA, and they are going to make sure that system is not paid for by the government of Kenya. It will be a fee for service facility that will make sure we protect citizen’s contribution,” President William Ruto said.
President Ruto vowed that no such practices will be witnessed in SHA and told off critics telling them to “move on”.
He said the cartels that were running down NHIF were worried as their cash cow had been stopped, and that is their reason for opposing SHA.
He went on to say that those opposed to the system are brokers adding that they were sponsoring negative stories in the media about SHA system not working.
He said that once the new system was up and running, the claims from hospitals will be taken to the individual facility and not to one bank account run by the county adding that this will improve service delivery for the people.
“Once this system is in place, even the village health facility will have their money sent to their bank account directly so that they continue offering services to the people of Kenya. Money paid will be for services rendered and not what we have been seeing in the past,” he said.
President Ruto emphasized that the SHA is designed to ensure that every Kenyan has access to medical coverage regardless of their financial status.
He stated that marks a departure from previous systems where health insurance was predominantly accessible to those in formal employment particularly those in civil service or with the means to afford private coverage.
“Accessing services should not be a privilege of the rich or those working in government. We want everyone, even those not in formal employment, to access quality healthcare and that is what SHA will bring about,” said the president.
President Ruto was speaking in Malava on Tuesday during the burial of Malulu Injendi. Until his demise, Malulu Injendi was the Member of Parliament for Malava Constituency.
Injendi passed away on Monday, February 17, at the age of 58, while receiving treatment at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.
There has been outspoken criticism on the SHA rollout with some stakeholders calling for the improvement of services while others called for it to be reverted back to NHIF.
On January 15, 2025, 61-year-old Grace Njoki Mulei led other patients in protesting the poor services of the Social Health Authority claiming they were hurting patients.
Ms. Mulei took her protests to Ministry of Health’s headquarters at Afya House while Health Cabinet Secretary, Deborah Mulongo, was about to address the press.
She was arrested on January 23, but the Ministry of Health later dropped all charges against her following public outcry.
In December 3, 2024, Kenyan Members of Parliament in an informal meeting (Kamkunji) raised concerns with the new healthcare system, saying it is plunging millions into untold suffering despite huge deductions from salaries.
They criticised the Health Ministry of lacking a proper plan before rolling out the new scheme.
Social Health Authority was launched on September 1, replacing the National Health Insurance Fund.