On March 15, 2024, President William Ruto announced that his close business associate and personal friend, Silas Kibet Simatwo, would chair the Digital Health Agency (DHA) – a critical component of the Social Health Authority which is intended to push for universal healthcare.
Under President Ruto’s plan, the DHA is tasked with health data governance.
From collection and storage to analysis of health-related data, the DHA’s work is the foundation on which the Social Health Agency will build systems to sustain affordable healthcare for all, at least according to the blueprint.
But Mr Simatwo’s appointment to the DHA has triggered debate on the circumstances of his hiring, and whether his friendship and business ties with President Ruto played any role in the decision.
Mr Simatwo did not respond to our email, in which we asked whether he believes that there is no conflict of interest in his appointment to the DHA.
State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed had also not responded to our queries on the same at the time of going to press.
Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) CEO Kwame Owino said that the process President Ruto has used to appoint key people to the key organs under the SHA punctures holes into the ambitious plan.
Mr Owino held that President Ruto should have opted for a transparent competitive process to identify the best possible drivers for the SHA project.
“SHIF is such a big thing, given the change of scope and the huge amounts of money involved, that recruitments (of the institutions running the scheme) should have been done through reputable international human resource firms. The fact that this was not done, to me, means that the process is suboptimal and the agenda is to push it through regardless. I don’t have confidence in the way it has been set up,”
Mr Simatwo and his family are the biggest shareholders of Amaco Insurance and maintains significant control over the controversial underwriter.
Directly, he owns 40,600 shares.
Through Vomorono Ltd, Mr Simatwo and his family own 150,000 shares. Mr Simatwo, his wife Catherine and daughter Sharon own Vomorono Ltd.
Through Joubert & Borman Ltd, Mr Simatwo owns 90,000 shares.
In 2009 when President Ruto was still Agriculture minister, he was accused of facilitating irregular dealings that allowed importation of maize that was unfit for consumption, and unfair distribution of the product by the Strategic Grain Reserve.
At the time, records from the Registrar of Companies indicated that President Ruto owned 128,000 shares in Amaco directly, and another stake through Joubert & Borman Ltd which he co-owned alongside Mr Simatwo.
Currently, Mr Simatwo owns 660 shares in Joubert & Borman while Amos Kipkorir Biwott holds the other 340 shares. Mr Biwott also owns 189,000 Amaco shares in his own name.
Kohlberg & Flenders Ltd owns 90,000 shares in Amaco Insurance. Ugandan national Ritah Tebasiima and German national Risto Sievert each own one share. Ms Tebasiima also owns 130,000 Amaco shares in her own name.
Mr Simatwo and Amos Kipkorir Biwott are listed as directors in the company, an indication that they represent the two foreigners’ interests at Amaco.
President Ruto’s family owns 190,000 shares, or 15 per cent of Amaco, through Yegen Farms Ltd. First Lady Rachel Ruto and daughter Charlene are the listed shareholders of Yegen Farms Ltd.
The Rutos have more than doubled their Amaco stake in the last two years. In July, 2022 they owned 50,000 shares through Yegen Farms.
Records from the Business Registration Service indicate that they have since acquired an additional 140,000 shares.
Linus Kipngetich owns 190,000 shares.
Charles Tela Alusala, an accountant who handles the Ruto family affairs in some of their other companies, is also listed as a part owner of Amaco. He has 130,000 shares, or 10.83 per cent of the insurance companies.
It is unclear whether Mr Alusala owns the shares himself, or holds them in trust for other individuals.
Amaco survived insolvency three years ago, as it initiated out-of-court talks with six individuals who had succeeded in court through a petition.
As the insurer was appealing the High Court decision, it initiated talks and settled several claims that risked leading to Amaco’s closure.
In 2022 the Mama Raeli Memorial Foundation accused Amaco of concealing assets to frustrate a separate case in which the court ordered that the insurer pay the NGO Sh19 million.
The firm has for several years faced several accusations, in and out of court, of defaulting on claims settlements.
Amaco has bagged many a government tender for the provision of insurance services over the years, serving institutions like Kirinyaga University, Mandera County, Nairobi County and the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa, among others.
