No SHA funds lost to ghost hospitals- Duale
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, during a media briefing on Monday, said that the claims circulating on social media mostly referred to facilities that had already been closed in May
The Health Ministry has refuted reports that the Social Health Authority (SHA) has been making payments to ghost hospitals.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, during a media briefing on Monday, said that claims circulating on social media mostly referred to facilities that had already been closed in May, while others had been suspended or downgraded.
He urged the public to verify such information through the regulator or the Digital Health Authority (DHA) website.
"The facilities you found circulating on social media are facilities that the majority of them were closed in May, some were suspended, some were downgraded. What Kenyans on social media are telling us is information that we already have," Duale said.
“I want 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 said.
According to the CS, genuine whistleblowers continue to provide information to the ministry, which is consistent with findings from the system and forensic auditors.
He explained that the regulatory actions primarily affected facilities in Mandera, Homa Bay, Kisii, Wajir, Nairobi, Bungoma, and Kisumu counties.
The CS reiterated the government’s commitment to fighting fraud and ensuring free, affordable, and accessible healthcare.
He revealed that Sh9 billion has already been paid for primary health, with an additional Sh7.7 billion and Sh1.3 billion awaiting disbursement pending the release of funds by the National Treasury.
On August 22, 2025, SHA clarified reports that nearly Sh20 million had been disbursed to a non-existent facility.
The Authority's Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Mwangangi, said that Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital in Gwassi, Suba South Constituency, is a fully operational facility that has been in existence since the 1970s.
It was formerly Nyandiwa Dispensary before being upgraded to a Level 4 hospital.
Mwangangi explained that the hospital retained its original bank account name, “Nyandiwa Dispensary,” during the transition, a practice common among many health facilities across the country.
According to the authority, the disbursement of Sh19,998,720 represented legitimate accumulated claims that were duly verified and processed under SHA’s payment protocols.
"To date, the facility has received Sh751,504 under Primary Health Care (PHC) and Sh82,080,706 under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), all acknowledged by the facility. These are accumulated payments from October 2024," said Mwangangi.
