Sh9 billion scandal: Plumbers, salon workers masquerading as medics
Some of the 8,571 health workers deployed to Covid-19 frontlines in 2020 are plumbers, salon workers, carpenters, and early childhood education teachers.
Officials conducting a nationwide headcount of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) medics have uncovered a shocking revelation.
Some of the 8,571 health workers deployed to Covid-19 frontlines in 2020 are plumbers, salon workers, carpenters, and early childhood education teachers with no medical training whatsoever.
The discovery has exposed a massive fraud that has cost Kenyan taxpayers an estimated Sh9 billion over the past five years, with approximately 3,000 ghost workers collecting monthly salaries of Sh50,000 each.
Joint verification teams, comprising officials from national and county governments working alongside union representatives, are so shocked by their findings that they are now scrambling to authenticate the credentials of workers earning a collective Sh150 million monthly in fraudulent payments.
The mathematics of fraud
Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who chairs the Council of Governors' Health Committee, broke down the staggering financial impact.
"As you may know by now, the 8,571 UHC medics have been earning an average of Sh50,000 each per month. The number of ghost workers, which is 3,000, by Sh50,000 means on a monthly basis Sh150 million is lost, and in five years, which is 60 months, Kenya loses Sh9 billion," Governor Njuki explained.
"We have now discovered that the government of Kenya is losing taxpayers' money by paying ghost UHC workers who cannot be accounted for because the list with the health ministry indicates that we have 8,571 medics, but when we look in our hospitals, they are not there because 3,000 of them are ghost workers," he pointed out, explaining why 'cartels' in the Health ministry don't want CS Duale to transfer the payroll to counties.
Officials are interrogating internal county data to establish how some UHC medics who have been protesting day and night outside Afya House, demanding permanent and pensionable terms as well as gratuity, used stolen academic credentials to apply for jobs five years ago.
"We decided to confirm whatever they are saying because some are suspected to have stolen other people's academic certificates, which they used to get the job in 2020, and so we must check our systems and establish how exactly that happened. We have to confirm everything they are telling us," disclosed a senior official in charge of the headcount who is not officially allowed to speak to the media.
"We have been instructed to treat all the data and findings as classified and then report back to our bosses who will make the final list and determinations," the official told Nation via telephone.
Preliminary report
Council of Governors CEO Mary Mwiti assured that her team is conducting exhaustive verification across all 47 counties.
"We will complete the headcount exercise across all 47 counties by Thursday or Friday this week, and so far, headcount has been done in 36 counties. We are checking everything and will soon have a preliminary report which I will share once it's ready," Mwiti told Nation.
"I have scrutinized the list to make sure there is no plumber, salon worker, or carpenter. Our verification process is very thorough, and we have also separated UHC workers who were on the payroll from those who are not on the payroll," she added.
"Also, after a meeting at Afya House, a resolution was made to refund Homa Bay County all the money they have used for three years to pay UHC health workers because during this period they did not receive any money from the health ministry to do so. We prioritized confirming the list for UHC medics from Homa Bay because they had all the requirements and records in place," the CoG CEO told Nation.
Despite Ms Mwiti's assurances, a Nation spot-check in 18 counties revealed concerning findings. Counties where headcount has been concluded include Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, Narok, Bomet, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kisii, Migori, Tana River, Garissa, Nairobi, Makueni, Samburu, Laikipia, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Murang'a, and Kirinyaga.
Only Baringo County can confidently verify and authenticate that they have 186 legitimate UHC medics after one medic was a no-show, considering official records show they have 187 workers.
When Nation contacted ten different headcount team leaders, some cited similar concerns while others refused to speak, stating they had been strictly instructed not to divulge information and let county officials and CoG determine everything.
Despite the ongoing headcount, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has directed that all UHC medics must still, without failure, submit their original academic credentials and licenses to Afya House after the headcount exercise for verification and authentication.
"They will have to provide their academic qualifications to the Health ministry headquarters," CS Duale told Nation, explaining that additional verification will help determine who is eligible for permanent and pensionable terms as well as gratuity and who is not.
Through an official letter to governors dated July 4, 2025, referenced CoG/6/40/4A Vol2, Ms Mwiti instructed counties to have UHC medics present original and copies of national ID or passport, the offer of appointment letter received five years ago, contract renewal letter, and a duly filled and stamped headcount form. However, according to CS Duale, these details are not sufficient.
The extended verification has frustrated legitimate UHC workers protesting outside Afya House for months, demanding permanent employment terms and gratuity.
Healthcare workers under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program protest at Afya House in Nairobi on May 13, 2025.
"I am very much worried that some individuals will make something as small as just counting people take too long and delay our permanent and pensionable terms. It is very unfair to us who diligently served this country, with some colleagues even losing their lives just to keep Kenyans safe," complained a UHC health worker based in Kajiado County.
The crisis stems from employment structure established during Covid-19. The 8,571 UHC medics were contracted by county governments, handed over to the health ministry, then deployed to Covid-19 frontlines in 2020.
Governor Njuki explained the systemic problem: "In Tharaka Nithi, we have 219 UHC medics. The interviews to recruit them were done by us, as other counties did in 2020 across the country, which is why they are our employees, but the payroll remained with the health ministry."
"Even if the UHC medics are on strike over permanent and pensionable terms and gratuity, which I agree is their right and should be paid, it is important for us to do a headcount on all the workers because we cannot be paying people we do not know, even if unions don't like it," Governor Njuki stated.
Additionally, approximately 50 workers who have either resigned for greener pastures or passed away due to natural causes or accidents continue having their salaries withdrawn, with money vanishing without a trace.
Earlier this month, following consultative meetings with the Kenya Union of Nurses and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, Duale reaffirmed his commitment to addressing long-standing concerns, stating that funds have been secured to transition eligible UHC staff to permanent and pensionable terms. However, this will be implemented only after the verification exercise scheduled for July is completed.
"The verification will be conducted by joint teams from the national and county governments, working alongside union representatives, to carry out a comprehensive headcount and reconcile national and county payrolls. This is a clean-up process to protect public resources, and only staff who are duly verified and provide the required documentation will be transitioned," said CS Duale, noting that some UHC staff were directly employed by counties and must be properly accounted for during verification.
"The verification outcomes will guide the signing of the return-to-work formula in August, enabling payroll harmonisation, staff transition to permanent terms, and the eventual devolution of payroll management to county governments," the Health CS said.
