A fresh legal dispute has erupted over how the government selected 14 private companies to run the mandatory insurance scheme for foreign visitors, a programme requiring them to carry health insurance worth at least Sh6.4 million.
Vantage Point Ventures Limited, the petitioner, wants the court to compel the government to disclose how 14 private insurers were selected to participate in the scheme.
The legal dispute concerns a mandatory insurance market created by the Social Health Insurance Act for non-Kenyans intending to enter and remain in the country for less than 12 months. The government later set minimum cumulative benefits at $50,000, about Sh6.4 million.
Vantage Point Ventures Limited says while its consortium pursued the programme under the Ministry of Health’s administrative framework, a separate commercial arrangement involving “14 pre-selected insurers”, Kenya Reinsurance Corporation and Minet Kenya Insurance Brokers emerged.
According to documents filed at the High Court in Nairobi, Vantage Point had formed a consortium with Madison General Insurance Kenya Limited and Madanes-Option (CYP) Limited and submitted a comprehensive proposal to the Ministry in November 2025.
The company says it later learnt of the alternative arrangement involving 14 insurers, Kenya Re and Minet but was not given the criteria used to select them or the legal basis for their roles. It has not named the 14 insurers.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Vantage Point is asking the court to compel the respondents to disclose the selection process, evaluation records, contracts, reinsurance arrangements, payment systems and other documents underpinning the programme.
The Ministry of Health says the programme operationalises a requirement contained in the Social Health Insurance Act, while the Gazette Notice published on July 30 set minimum benefit limits.
The health cover includes $20,000 for medical expenses, $25,000 for emergency medical transportation, $300 for prescribed medicines, $1,000 for mental illness and $5,000 for repatriation of a dead body.
Vantage Point filed its petition in Nairobi on July 23 but has filed an application seeking permission to amend the petition and obtain documents on the programme’s commercial structure.
It says it is entitled to a “lawful, rational, transparent and procedurally fair process” in considering its proposal.
Vantage Point says it had formed a consortium to develop the insurance solution. Under a November 13, 2024 joint venture agreement, Vantage Point was designated the data aggregator and value-added services provider. Madison handled insurance services and regulatory approval, while Madanes-Option was the joint venture leader.
Dennis Mutuku, Vantage Point’s chief executive and director, says the consortium’s product was approved for sale by Madison through the Insurance Regulatory Authority on May 30, 2023.
“The Petitioner’s case is that the sequence of approval, omission from information supplied to the Ministry, re-submission, re-approval and subsequent withdrawal raises serious questions as to consistency, rationality and procedural fairness,” Mr Mutuku says in the court papers.
The consortium submitted a comprehensive partnership proposal on November 11, 2025, under the Ministry’s administrative framework. It followed up on March 12 and April 21, 2026, but says no substantive determination was communicated.
On December 17, 2025, it submitted an updated reinsurance structure. It allocated 65 per cent to General Reinsurance Corporation, 20 per cent to Kenya Re, 10 per cent to ZEP-RE/PTA Reinsurance and five per cent to Africa Re.
Vantage Point says it later learnt of a March 16, 2026 letter from the Insurance Regulatory Authority Commissioner and chief executive to the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service proposing a parallel structure.
According to Mr Mutuku, that structure involved 14 pre-selected insurers, Kenya Re and Minet. He says the company has not been given the selection criteria, legal basis for Kenya Re and Minet’s roles, or the process through which they were identified and appointed.
The application asks the court to order disclosure of the list of approved or designated insurers, the selection criteria and legal basis, procurement and evaluation records, minutes and recommendations, and the legal basis for Kenya Re and Minet’s roles in the programme.
Vantage also wants the court to order disclosure of contracts, reinsurance treaties and arrangements for premiums, payments, claims and system integration.
It also seeks documents showing the legal and administrative basis on which Kenya Re and Minet were “proposed, selected, designated or positioned” in the programme.
Vantage Point says it complained to the Competition Authority of Kenya over alleged competition concerns. The Authority declined to investigate in a June 11, 2026 letter, according to the court papers.
The company says implementation before determination of the case could see policies issued, premiums collected, contracts executed and systems integrated.
It is also challenging the legal framework. It says Gazette Notice No. 11492 dated July 29, 2026 does not correspond fully with Regulation 70 of the 2024 Social Health Insurance Regulations, including requirements on personal accident, hospital benefits and cover throughout a visitor’s stay.
The Ministry’s August 7 clarification introduced electronic travel authorisation uploads, verification at entry points and possible refusal of entry for non-compliance, according to the application.
The High Court in Marsabit separately suspended enforcement after two residents challenged the policy. Justice Francis Rayola Olel granted interim orders, with the matter scheduled for September 16.
The Nairobi case names the Attorney General, Health Cabinet Secretary, IRA, Competition Authority, Kenya Re and Minet as respondents. The application states that none had filed submissions by August 25, despite court directions requiring them within 14 days.
The court has yet to determine Vantage Point’s allegations or the legality of the commercial structure. The case is set for mention on September 29, 2026.
