‘Our baby was held hostage': Parents' anguish as SHA breaks heart surgery promise
Mr Boniface Nyang’au during the interview at Nation Centre in Nairobi on August 5,2025.
Imagine being told your 10-month-old daughter’s heart is beating on borrowed time. Imagine learning that her only hope lies in a complex and costly surgery in a foreign country you’ve only seen on television.
This was the nightmare that faced Boniface Nyang’au and his wife, Gladys Nyabonyi Asuku, when their baby girl, Chloe Agnes Nyang’au, was diagnosed with life-threatening heart defects requiring urgent surgery in India.
With determination, the couple raised Sh1.125 million through church harambees, family support, and social media campaigns. The Social Health Authority (SHA) had promised to cover the remaining Sh500,000 through its overseas treatment package—a pledge that would later collapse into silence.
For 16 years, the couple had dutifully contributed to the now-defunct NHIF and kept their SHA premiums up to date through February 2026. Trusting in the system, they travelled to Chennai, India. But SHA not only failed to remit the funds—it cut all communication, leaving the young family stranded with a growing medical bill.
On September 22 last year, as many Kenyans attended Sunday service, Boniface received what he believed was his own miracle at Ngara Hospital.
“It was my fifth time in the labour ward. I held my wife’s hand tightly as she delivered our first daughter. I couldn’t believe it,” he recalled. But within a month of baby Chloe’s birth, something felt wrong. She developed a persistent fever around her head, became increasingly restless, cried constantly, and struggled to feed.
For six agonising months, the couple visited multiple hospitals. Despite thorough tests at Gertrude’s Hospital in Muthaiga, no clear diagnosis emerged.
“In March this year, we had had enough. We went to Doctors Plaza at Kenyatta National Hospital,” Boniface told Nation.
There, Dr Miriam Karanja took an immediate interest and referred them to paediatric cardiologist Dr Esther Kimani for an echocardiogram. The results were devastating: baby Chloe had two abnormal holes in her heart. In a report dated March 18, 2025, Dr Kimani diagnosed “Complete AV Canal Defect with Balanced Ventricles (Rastelli type A), Moderate PAH (Hyperkinetic), Small secundum ASD and Good biventricular systolic function.”
Chloe, by then, had also developed pneumonia.
Dr Kimani, in her compassion, referred the family to the MIOT (Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology) International Hospital in Chennai, India, for emergency open-heart surgery—a procedure not available in Kenya.
She also wrote to the Ministry of Health, confirming the surgery could not be done locally and that Chloe had been accepted at The MIOT Centre for Children’s Cardiac Care. The full cost, including travel, was Sh1.8 million.
In a letter dated April 8, 2025, Dr Emmanuel Tanui, writing on behalf of Dr Patrick Amoth, the Health Ministry’s Director-General, gave the official green light.
“The patient will be accompanied by a caregiver. Upon return, the parent must share the outcome with the Ministry for policy formulation,” Dr Tanui wrote.
The family was directed to SHA for further processing. They submitted detailed documentation, including medical reports, pro forma invoices, and identification. On May 15, SHA issued a beneficiary commitment form, confirming a Sh500,000 contribution toward the Sh1.625 million treatment bill.
MIOT Hospital confirmed it would accept SHA’s guarantee of payment (GoP), allowing treatment to begin as soon as the family arrived. Meanwhile, Boniface launched a fundraising campaign through his local church in Kasarani and opened a PayBill account. They raised Sh1.125 million to settle their portion of the cost, as well as pay for return tickets, passports, and visas.
The hospital estimated a 15-day stay, with a Sh13,000 daily charge for any extension.
The surgery was a success. On July 29, 2025, MIOT issued a discharge notice for July 30. But the promised Sh500,000 from SHA had not arrived.
“They didn’t honour the guarantee and went silent, despite knowing our return flight was booked for August 5,” Boniface said. Boniface had visited SHA on July 25 and met with an official, Ms Jemimah Ntutu, who delivered shocking news.
“She told me they weren’t approving any overseas treatment, even for cases where GoPs had already been issued,” he said.
With SHA’s funds missing, the daily penalties for extended stay began accruing. By August 4, the family owed Sh65,000 on top of the Sh500,000 SHA had failed to remit.
“My wife and daughter were virtually held hostage in the hospital,” Boniface said.
Desperate, he transferred a friend’s car logbook to secure a loan. Others contributed what they could, eventually raising Sh565,000 to settle the hospital bill and bring Chloe home.
When Nation contacted SHA’s Director of Benefits, Design and Claims, Dr Tracey John—who signs off on overseas treatment approvals—she confirmed knowledge of Chloe’s case. But she also confirmed a shift in policy: SHA was no longer honouring overseas guarantees of payment. Asked to explain, she deflected.
“Kindly ask SHA CEO Dr Mercy Mwangangi. She is the only one who can explain. I advise you to consult her,” Dr John said.
Despite repeated calls and messages, Dr Mwangangi did not respond. A visit to SHA offices also yielded no answers. Staff said she was busy. Public Health and Professional Standards PS Mary Muthoni, when contacted, promised to investigate.
When Nation reached out to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale about SHA’s failure to honour its pledge, he delivered an unexpected response: the letter authorising baby Chloe’s travel was, he claimed, fake.
But Nation is in possession of that letter, along with emails and documents from SHA that relied on it when approving the GoP.
“The way Kenyans used to go abroad for treatment under NHIF is different from how we do it under SHA. There’s a legal procedure. We must confirm that the treatment isn’t available in Kenya,” Mr Duale said. When pressed with evidence contradicting his claims, the CS turned to threats.
“That approval is fake. I will sue you if you publish. I will sue Nation Media Group and forward that letter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations,” Mr Duale said.
