SHA is Not Working: Meru Politician Makarina Calls Out Government as Ex-DCI Kinoti Offsets His Hospital Bill

Prominent businessman and politician Michael Makarina has publicly criticized Kenya’s Social Health Authority (SHA) after the system failed to cover his hospital admission costs, forcing former DCI boss George Kinoti to intervene

NAIROBI – A midnight medical emergency has exposed the deep-rooted challenges facing Kenya’s ambitious Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), with Meru businessman and politician Michael Makarina becoming the latest high-profile critic of President William Ruto’s flagship healthcare reform.

In a scathing Facebook post on Tuesday, Makarina detailed how the much-touted health insurance system failed him during a critical moment, describing SHIF as “mambo ya karatasi” (just paperwork) that exists only in government press conferences but fails ordinary Kenyans when they need it most.

Makarina’s ordeal began when he arrived at Aga Khan University Hospital at midnight, experiencing severe pain and weakness.

While his condition required immediate medical attention, the hospital’s admission process stalled due to SHIF’s inadequate coverage.

“I was in pain, overwhelmed and weak. My wife was running up and down, trying to push things through SHA and SHIF. She tried. But nothing was moving,” Makarina recounted in his post.

The politician revealed that SHIF would only cover what he described as “peanuts” – an amount so negligible that he claimed it was equivalent to the cost of making a single phone call.

This revelation highlights a critical gap between the government’s promises of universal healthcare coverage and the reality experienced by patients.

The situation took an unexpected turn when former Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti saw Makarina’s social media post and immediately intervened.

Kinoti contacted Makarina’s wife and assured her that he would handle the entire hospital bill.

“Former DCI boss George Kinoti saw my post, called immediately and told my wife, ‘Mama, relax. I got this.’ He cleared the full hospital admission bill not because I couldn’t afford it but for the brotherhood we’ve shared over the years,” Makarina disclosed.

The swift intervention by Kinoti, who acted within hours of seeing the post, stood in stark contrast to the bureaucratic delays and inadequate coverage offered by the official health insurance system.

Makarina’s experience is particularly significant given his status as a prominent businessman and politician who presumably has access to better healthcare options than ordinary Kenyans and has been a proponent of the broad based government.

If the system fails someone of his stature, it raises serious questions about its effectiveness for average citizens.

“That’s when I saw the system for what it is – a big name, but no muscle,” Makarina stated, delivering a damning assessment of the healthcare reform that was supposed to revolutionize medical services in Kenya.

The incident has broader political ramifications for President Ruto’s administration.

Makarina directly linked the healthcare system’s failures to the government’s declining popularity, arguing that such basic service delivery failures are eroding public trust.

“SHA is not working. SHIF is a sweet story in press conferences, but a nightmare at the ground level. That’s why wananchi are frustrated, angry, and disillusioned. The government is losing the people not because of propaganda but because of its own failure to fix the basics,” he wrote.

This criticism comes at a time when the Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration is already facing mounting pressure over various governance issues, making healthcare delivery failures particularly damaging to its credibility.

The Social Health Authority and SHIF were introduced as part of President Ruto’s campaign promises to provide universal healthcare coverage to all Kenyans.

The system was designed to replace the previous National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) with a more comprehensive and efficient health insurance scheme.

However, Makarina’s experience suggests that the transition has been problematic, with patients caught between an old system that has been phased out and a new one that has yet to deliver on its promises.

Makarina’s public criticism adds to growing calls for immediate reforms to address the healthcare system’s shortcomings.

His statement that he will “continue to speak for the mwananchi wa kawaida” (ordinary citizens) suggests that more high-profile figures may begin voicing similar concerns.

The incident also raises questions about the government’s communication strategy, with Makarina noting the disconnect between press conference promises and ground-level reality.

As Kenya continues to grapple with healthcare delivery challenges, cases like Makarina’s serve as important wake-up calls for policymakers.

The fact that a prominent politician had to rely on personal connections rather than official channels to access healthcare highlights the urgent need for comprehensive system reforms.

The government now faces the challenge of addressing these concerns while maintaining public confidence in its healthcare initiatives.

Without significant improvements to SHIF’s coverage and efficiency, more Kenyans may find themselves in similar situations, potentially undermining the entire healthcare reform agenda.

For now, Makarina’s experience stands as a stark reminder that in Kenya’s healthcare system, personal networks often prove more reliable than institutional promises – a reality that the government must address if it hopes to achieve its universal healthcare goals.