Baringo County Governor Benjamin Cheboi when he appeared before the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee at Bunge Tower Nairobi on June 19, 2025.
A simmering dispute over ambulance charges in Baringo has laid bare deeper cracks in the county’s healthcare system, exposing a painful disconnect between official claims and the lived reality of patients.
At the centre of the storm is Governor Benjamin Cheboi, whose assertion that ambulance services for referred patients are free has sparked outrage among residents who say they are routinely forced to pay thousands of shillings often in life-and-death situations.
For many families, the difference between policy and practice is not just administrative but urgent, costly, and at times, fatal.
Across the county, a troubling pattern has emerged where critically ill patients wait as families scramble to raise between Sh5,000 and Sh9,000 before ambulances can move.
In emergencies, where every minute counts, the delays have left residents questioning whether access to healthcare is being quietly rationed by ability to pay.
While the county government insists that only self-requested transfers attract charges, residents paint a starkly different picture one in which even hospital-initiated referrals come with a price tag, often demanded upfront.
On Tuesday, Governor Cheboi made an impromptu visit to Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet, where he inspected ongoing renovations and assessed service delivery.
The main gate of the Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet.
Addressing the press afterwards, the governor said ambulance services remain free for patients referred within the public health system.
“Patients referred through our facilities do not pay for ambulance services,” Governor Cheboi said.
He explained that charges only apply where individuals request transfers to facilities of their choice, often under private insurance arrangements.
But on the ground, that distinction appears blurred, if not entirely absent.
In Mogotio, Geoffrey Serem recalls a desperate race against time when his sister developed complications during childbirth in November last year.
She was referred to Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital but only after the family raised Sh5,000.
“We had no money at the time. The hospital insisted on payment before releasing the ambulance. We had to struggle to raise it while she was in critical condition,” Mr Serem recounted.
“It is painful to hear the governor say the service is free. That is not what we experienced,” he says.
Sereme’s story is not isolated.
In Baringo North, another family recounts how they were asked to pay Sh9,000 to transfer a relative with a blood clot in the brain from Kabarnet to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
With their resources already drained by medical bills, they were forced to share the ambulance cost with another patient.
“We had no choice. But what happens to those who cannot find anyone to share the cost with?” a relative questioned.
Baringo County Governor Benjamin Cheboi when he appeared before the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee at Bunge Tower Nairobi on June 19, 2025.
In Marigat, a resident paid Sh7,500 to move a sick relative. In another case, a family parted with Sh9,000 to transfer a patient to Eldoret.
Others speak of last-minute collections, borrowed funds, and agonising delays as paperwork and payment demands stall urgent referrals.
For some, the consequences are devastating.
Residents claim that in several instances, critically ill patients have deteriorated or even died while families struggled to raise the required fees.
Though such cases are difficult to independently verify, the perception alone has deepened mistrust in the county’s healthcare system.
The ambulance issue has spilled into public spaces and at a recent burial in Sironoi, a resident confronted the governor directly, accusing the county administration of failing patients at their most vulnerable moments.
“Even during emergencies, people are asked to pay,” the resident said. “It is shameful.”
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