Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has dismissed allegations of nepotism in the hiring of Social Health Authority (SHA) staff, after a circulated list claimed the recruitment was dominated by a single community and his close associates.
Addressing Members of Parliament at the ongoing retreat in Naivasha, Mr Duale stated that the recruitment of staff at SHA was strictly based on merit.
"Recruitment at SHA is strictly based on merit. I have seen a list circulating on social media alleging that 14 out of 32 senior claims management officers at SHA were from one community. That is not true. The list is fake. I will share the right list of names of the officers with the House," stated Duale.
"Nobody, including myself, interferes with how SHA recruits staff. The agency has its own board of management responsible for such decisions," he explained.
Despite the recent accusations, Mr Duale emphasised that the SHA would ensure all Kenyan regions, communities, and genders are given equal opportunity, based on competence and qualifications.
“There is no nepotism involved in the recruitment of staff to SHA. Currently, we have 144 staff members against the required staff establishment of 815. There is ongoing recruitment of about 475 officers that will be based in counties," said Mr Duale.
Defending the diversity of the appointments, the CS stated that the government is working to "correct any historical injustices" in public sector employment.
The controversy emerged amid a wider, turbulent transition to the Social Health Authority (formerly NHIF) in early 2025, which has also involved the suspension of hospitals over fraud.
Mr Duale's assurance comes amid claims that the current recruitment is marred by lack of inclusivity, ethical breaches, and nepotism, triggering unrest within the authority.
The CS promised to ensure that there is adherence to the Constitution and inclusivity in the exercise of the authority meant to drive Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The Public Service Commission (PSC) last December revealed that over 1,400 former employees of the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) will serve for another six months at the Social Health Authority (SHA), pending confirmation or release from service.
This was the third time the PSC announced an extension of service of the former NHIF employees, who have not been confirmed by SHA in the ongoing open recruitment exercise.
The PSC wrote to the State Department for the Medical Services, confirming the extension of the temporary deployment of the employees at SHA, as the agency recruits new staff.
Mr Paul Famba, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Secretary to the PSC, wrote to Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr Ouma Oluga, on the matter, through a letter dated December 21, 2025, days before the expiry of the existing terms.
The former NHIF employees were officially deployed on temporary terms to SHA for six months, with effect from November 22, 2024, before an extension was granted six months later.
The Social Health Insurance Fund under the Social Health Authority was rolled out on October 1,2024, to replace the decades-old National Health Insurance Fund(NHIF),which lost billions of taxpayers-contributed funds to corruption.
In the past months, the health insurance scheme has faced public uproar over what Kenyans termed as "poor" implementation of the healthcare fund.
They also cited issues such as out-of-pocket payments caused by system downtime and limited coverage.
Despite the government's claims that the SHIF under the Social Health Authority was transforming the healthcare sector, many Kenyans' experiences have been far from positive.
SHIF has been under sustained criticism by the public, over what has been termed as a chaotic switch from the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to SHIF and the tragic realities of the health care system at the grassroots level.
Previously, MPs, governors, and healthcare professionals have publicly demanded answers on the poor implementation of the scheme, including delays to approve patient claims as well as specifications on what exactly SHA covers, as they pointed out that the new SHIF system was susceptible to failures and slow speeds, emphasising the need for remedies.
SHIF, one of President William Ruto's flagship projects, seeks to provide affordable healthcare to all Kenyans. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 26million Kenyans have enrolled with SHIF.
