From Affordable Housing to SHA: Sifuna intensifies criticism of Ruto’s govt
By Sharon Atieno, July 26, 2026Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has questioned the government’s claims that the Social Health Authority (SHA) is working effectively, saying Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka has privately told him that hospitals in the county have not received payments.
Speaking during the Linda Mwananchi tour in Kamukuywa, Bungoma County, on Sunday, July 26, 2026, Sifuna said the government was presenting a different picture of the health scheme from the reality faced by hospitals and patients.
Why don’t you say it yourself?
Sifuna said Governor Lusaka, who serves alongside him in the Senate, had raised concerns over unpaid hospital bills but had not publicly made the same complaints.
“The treatment is deceiving us that SHA is working. When Governor Lusaka comes to the Senate, he tells me quietly, ‘Sifuna, say SHA has not paid Bungoma hospitals.’ Why don’t you say it yourself?” Sifuna said.
His remarks come amid a growing political debate over the performance of SHA, with the opposition criticising the scheme over delays in payments to healthcare providers.
Ruto defends SHA reforms
President William Ruto has defended SHA, saying the scheme has expanded healthcare coverage and improved payments to hospitals.
Speaking at State House on Saturday, July 25, 2026, during a meeting with more than 7,000 Nairobi County Community Health Promoters, Ruto warned that opposition plans to scrap SHA and restore the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) could reverse gains made in the healthcare sector.
“Those people telling us to go back to a system that was not working are a very risky lot for our nation,” Ruto said.
The president said SHA had enrolled 32 million Kenyans, compared with about eight million under NHIF, while monthly payments to hospitals had risen to Ksh12 billion from Ksh5.6 billion every three months under the former scheme.
Opposition questions unpaid hospital bills
The dispute comes as SHA continues efforts to address outstanding payment disputes inherited from NHIF.
The authority has invited healthcare providers with verified outstanding claims of Ksh10 million and below to submit documents for review before a July 31, 2026 deadline.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and other opposition leaders have also criticised SHA, warning that unpaid bills owed to hospitals could affect healthcare delivery.
Sifuna has increasingly made healthcare a central part of his political message, using the concerns over SHA payments to challenge the government’s claims of improved service delivery.
The debate over SHA is expected to intensify ahead of the 2027 General Election, with the government defending the scheme as a key healthcare reform while opposition leaders push for major changes if they take power.
Besides SHA, Sifuna has also continued to criticise the Affordable Housing programme and its implementation.