Senior Counsel Paul Muite has ripped the veil off the government’s flagship health project, branding the Social Health Authority (SHA) a "working machine for looters." In a blistering attack that exposes the rot at the heart of Kenya's healthcare reform, Muite claims billions are being siphoned off while patients suffer.

The promise of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) was meant to be the administration's legacy; instead, it is morphing into its biggest scandal. [...](asc_slot://start-slot-1)Muite’s allegations are specific and damning: a staggering Ksh 11 billion lost to fraudulent claims and a mysterious Ksh 103 billion gap in software procurement costs. The "So What?" is a matter of life and death: every shilling stolen is a dialysis machine turned off, a cancer drug unbought, and a Kenyan life cut short by greed.

The 100-Billion Shilling Question

"SHA is working, we keep being told; yes, it's working for the looters!" Muite declared on X, his frustration palpable. The veteran lawyer and pro-democracy icon pointed to the discrepancy in the system's acquisition cost. [...](asc_slot://start-slot-3)Taxpayers reportedly paid Ksh 104 billion upfront for the SHA software—a system that experts estimate should cost a maximum of Ksh 1 billion. "Where did the other Ksh 103 billion go?" he demanded.

The scale of the alleged theft is industrial. An audit by the Ministry of Health has already flagged Ksh 11 billion in fake claims, with hospitals billing for phantom surgeries and "air" treatments. Yet, despite these revelations, there have been zero high-profile arrests. The silence from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is deafening.

• The Government Defense: Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has attempted to downplay the crisis, claiming the system "rejected" the fraudulent claims. "We are not paying," Duale insisted on national TV. But Muite counters that the intent to steal was there, and the architects of the system are still in office.
• The Human Cost: While the elites fight over billions, the ordinary Wananchi are reporting system failures, denied approvals, and out-of-pocket expenses that SHA was supposed to eliminate.

A Culture of Impunity

This scandal follows a wearyingly familiar script in Kenya: a mega-project is launched, a massive budget is allocated, and then the vultures descend. [...](asc_slot://start-slot-5)Muite’s intervention is a wake-up call that the "digital transformation" of healthcare may just be a digital heist.

"No arrests; only deadly silence by those in power," Muite warned. As the SHA scandal unfolds, it threatens to collapse public trust in the health system entirely. For the sick and vulnerable, the "working" system feels fundamentally broken.