Ghost workers put on notice as Ministry orders UHC staff headcount
Universal Health Coverage medics protest along Harambe Avenue Nairobi on May 27, 2025 to demand better terms of employment.
What you need to know:
The Health ministry has ordered a roll call of all the 7,414 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers who were captured in a recent audit ahead of their planned permanent employment.
Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga says the latest scrutiny seeks establish the staff who are in active service and those who have boycotted work, as the ministry sets out to clean up the payroll.
In an official letter dated August 25, and seen by the Nation, DrOluga suggests that UHC medics who have stopped reporting to work are unlikely to benefit from the permanent jobs set to be rolled out from September 1, 2025.
"A number of officers who presented themselves during the headcount exercise are currently not on duty, which has negatively affected service delivery in various county health facilities," Dr Oluga writes to CoG Chief Executive Officer Mary Mwiti.
Job security
The group comprises contract-based healthcare staff—including clinical officers, nurses, lab techs, public health officers, community health promoters, and other support personnel—hired under the Universal Health Coverage initiative since 2019 to boost primary healthcare delivery and pandemic response.
They are currently entangled in disputes over employment security, fair pay, benefits, and proper integration into the public service.
The principal secretary wants comprehensive UHC staff records, capturing the workers’ biodata, from all 47 counties by September 1, 2025, to assess the impact on service delivery and address ongoing issues.
“This exercise is both routine and legally required as part of the accounting officer’s responsibility. It was agreed collectively during my meeting with all County Executive Committee Members (CECs) for Health on 21st August 2025,” Dr Oluga said in a Press statement issued on Thursday, August 28.
The templates, he said, should capture “staff who are actively working and those currently on strike or otherwise absent, indicating effective dates of absence”.
Active contracts
The move comes after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced on Monday that the UHC staff would be absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms across all 47 counties.
However, the absorption process has hit a snag after governors termed it “premature” since the UHC staff have active contracts, and the required funds have not been released.
"The report from the verification exercise has not been validated and officially shared, and therefore the process of transfer that the ministry is proposing is not agreed upon," said Council of Governors Health Committee Chairman Muthomi Njuki.
"CS Duale has not shared with Council of Governors (CoG) the list of verified UHC medics after the joint exercise between MoH and CoG in rooting out plumbers and salon attendants who were masquerading as health workers.”
He highlighted that the Health ministry had not allocated the Sh7.7 billion that both the ministry and CoG agreed upon for absorbing UHC medics on permanent and pensionable terms.
Of the 7,629 UHC staff initially verified through the audit carried out by the State Department for Medical Services in collaboration with the Council of Governors (CoG), 215 failed to present themselves to the authorities.
The individuals have since been identified as either ghost workers or unqualified health professionals, according to CS Duale.
"Salaries for the 215 have been stopped, and they have been removed from the government payroll pending investigations aimed at recovering any irregular payments made," the CS stated.
The remaining 7,414 eligible staff will be placed in two categories: those currently in active service, and those facing disciplinary cases, with Mr Duale saying the latter will not be absorbed immediately.
CoG CEO Mary Mwiti had earlier assured that the headcount would be completed across all counties, with thorough verification processes to ensure no unqualified individuals remained on the payroll.
Ghost workers
Mr Njuki estimates that Kenya might have lost at least Sh9 billion over the past five years paying salaries to ghost workers across all counties.
During the July headcount exercise directed by CS Duale, officials were shocked to discover that some of the 8,571 health workers contracted by county governments and handed over to the Health ministry in 2020 were plumbers, salon attendants, carpenters and early childhood education teachers with no healthcare training whatsoever.
UHC National Chairman Desmond Wafula, representing UHC staff, expressed deep concern about Mr Njuki's reservations about their absorption.
"It appears CoG may not be acting in good faith in seeking a solution to the UHC staff stalemate," Mr Wafula said.
He noted that their transition was supposed to happen by July 1, 2025, but the first quarter of the financial year is nearly ending without resolution.
The chairman urged the ministry to change terms of service by September 2025 and pay arrears owed to UHC staff for two months, then transition the payroll in 2026 if necessary.
"The verification of UHC staff was jointly conducted by both county governments and MoH officials, concluding on July 22, 2025. The verification reports were compiled by respective county HR departments in collaboration with ministry officials," he said.
Mr Wafula reminded governors that the Sh6.2 billion Treasury allocation was intended solely for UHC staff transition and salary payments.
"It should not be diverted for governors' send-off packages or political campaigns," he said, urging governors to act in good faith and work towards resolving the predicament.
Editor’s Note:An earlier version of this story had alluded to a clash between Dr Oluga and CS Duale on the planned absorption of UHC staff. We have since established the letters issued by the CS and PS on August 25 do not contradict each other.
