Ruto to hospitals: We will not pay pending medical claims without verification

President William Ruto (centre) with other leaders at St. Peter’s Cathedral Church, Anglican Church of Kenya, Diocese of Maseno West, Siaya County on August 31, 2025. (Photo: PCS)

By Lucy Mumbi
Sunday, August 31, 2025

The President said hospitals opposing verification are essentially trying to protect corrupt practices.

President William Ruto has slammed individuals rushing to courts to halt the Pending Medical Claims Verification Committee, saying accountability must take precedence over payments.

Speaking on Sunday after a church service at St Peter’s ACK Cathedral in Siaya County, Ruto warned that no public funds will be released without proper verification, stressing that corruption in hospitals will no longer be tolerated under the government’s digital tracking systems.

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Ruto explained that the Social Health Authority’s (SHA) digital system has enabled the government to detect long-standing fraud in hospitals under the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). He said hospitals opposing verification are essentially trying to protect corrupt practices.

“The reason why we are unearthing the theft and the corruption in hospitals is because our SHA digital system is able to detect the fraud that people have carried out for many years under NHIF. Why do we have Sh30 billion NHIF debt? When we say let us verify that debt, hospitals go to court saying they don’t want verification because they know there is theft. We are not going to pay until we verify, because we are not going to spend public money to pay corrupt people,” he said.

He reiterated that any hospital involved in misappropriating NHIF funds must be held accountable.

“Any hospital, whether government, private or church, that has stolen NHIF funds will pay, and those bringing corruption into SHA will be held accountable in court. We must be accountable for all public resources put at our disposal as government,” Ruto said.

The president’s remarks come as the High Court in Eldoret quashed the Pending Medical Claims Verification Committee, established by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on March 28 to audit NHIF claims.

Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that the committee, formed under gazette notice No. 4069 of March 28, 2025, lacked legal authority and contravened Article 31 of the Constitution and the SHA Act. The judge noted that the CS had no powers under the Constitution or the National Government and Coordination Act to establish the committee, rendering it unconstitutional.

The ruling followed a petition by Nakuru-based activist Dr Magare Gikenyi, who argued that the committee would have undermined the roles of the Auditor General and internal audit offices. Gikenyi also raised concerns that the panel could expose patients’ sensitive health data without consent, in violation of the Digital Health Authority regulations.

“Handpicking people who are not employees of NHIF and or SHA (its predecessor), nor public servants, nor staff of the auditor general to look into sensitive and confidential medical records of patients in the name of claim verification and exposing private data and patients’ disease conditions is against Article 31 of the Constitution,” read the suit in part.

Justice Nyakundi upheld these concerns, stating that the CS had exercised powers for purposes not envisaged by the law, making the committee’s formation void from inception. The judgment emphasised that any audit should be conducted by the constitutionally mandated Auditor General.