Sh253 Million Vanishes From SHA In Scandal That Exposes Rotten Core Of Kenya’s Health Sector

The Social Health Authority, Kenya’s newest hope for affordable healthcare, has been caught in the middle of a financial storm after a shocking Auditor General’s report revealed that a staggering Sh253 million has disappeared in dubious payments, bloated legal fees, and board allowances that cannot be traced. What was meant to be a reformist agency has turned into a cash cow for a few insiders, leaving lawmakers furious and Kenyans betrayed.

The explosive report, tabled before Parliament, shows that in less than two years of its existence, the Authority blew Sh247.8 million on questionable legal expenses and another Sh5.83 million in unsupported board payments.

Legislators who had expected progress in the country’s health reforms were instead met with figures that point to an institution sinking fast into the same swamp of corruption that killed its predecessor, the NHIF.

During a heated session at Parliament Buildings, SHA officials led by Chief Executive Officer Dr Mercy Mwangangi struggled to explain where the money went. Members of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture were left stunned as it emerged that the Authority paid a jaw-dropping Sh91.6 million in legal fees for court cases worth only Sh13.9 million.

The arithmetic was insulting even to the most forgiving mind.

“When you collect thirteen million by paying seventy-seven million, where is the value for money?” thundered Committee Chair Emmanuel Wangwe, his voice rising in disbelief. Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, who also sits in the committee, tore into the officials for what he termed as a culture of impunity masked behind pandemic excuses. “We are talking about billions of shillings of taxpayers’ money being squandered while hospitals go without medicine and patients die in corridors. The tired excuse of Covid-19 no longer holds water,” Amisi said.

As MPs pored over the audit findings, it became clear that the rot at the Authority went far beyond miscalculated legal fees.

The board had paid itself Sh5.83 million without any supporting documents, no minutes of meetings, no attendance registers, nothing to show that the money ever served a legitimate purpose.

“If five million was paid to the Board for nothing, that means thousands of Kenyans were denied treatment,” raged Ndhiwa MP Martin Peters as the room fell silent.

The drama intensified when legislators revisited the controversial multi-storey car park project, a venture that has ballooned from Sh909 million to a staggering Sh3.97 billion. What began as a routine construction has turned into one of the most suspicious public projects in recent memory. The Auditor General noted multiple unexplained payments and cost variations running over 337 percent. “The car park had more than two payments which raised the budget beyond logic,” said MP Wangwe, demanding that the management table all documents to show where every shilling went. Previous attempts to have the matter investigated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission have quietly died out, raising fears of a cover-up.

The report further exposed that SHA had failed to submit its financial statements for several years, making it impossible to verify massive balances, including Sh57.2 million in car loans and Sh1.29 billion in mortgage schemes. These schemes, some dating back over 20 years, have been run through commercial banks but without proper reconciliation, leaving auditors unsure whether the funds even exist in full.

Cornered by MPs, Dr Mwangangi admitted that the Authority inherited incomplete records from the defunct NHIF but insisted that reforms were underway. “We are committed to transparency and accountability. We have made significant reforms to address past weaknesses,” she told the committee, a statement that did little to calm the storm. Legislators accused the Authority’s finance department of sabotaging audits and “letting down the CEO and the entire health authority” by refusing to cooperate with investigators.

The scandal has once again thrown Kenya’s health financing reforms into chaos. The Social Health Authority was formed barely two years ago through a gazette notice signed by then Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha on November 22, 2023, amid promises of restoring faith in the public health insurance system. Now, it appears to be following the exact footsteps of the NHIF, a once-promising institution that became a national symbol of corruption and mismanagement.

For many Kenyans, the revelations confirm their worst fears — that the billions poured into the health sector are being pocketed by bureaucrats while ordinary citizens die waiting for treatment. The missing Sh253 million is just a snapshot of a deeper rot eating away at the foundations of the healthcare system. As one MP remarked, “This is not just about money. It’s about lives lost because of greed.”

The parliamentary committee has ordered SHA to hand over all documentation related to the payments and to cooperate fully with the EACC in investigating the scandal. But even as the board promises reforms, Kenyans are watching closely, weary of the familiar dance of denials and empty promises that have accompanied every major public funds theft.

If history is any guide, the Sh253 million scandal at SHA may well be the latest reminder that in Kenya, every new agency created to clean up corruption often ends up becoming its newest victim.