Willis Otieno accuses SHA of laundering public funds
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, March 10, 2026Safina Deputy Party Leader Willis Otieno has slammed the Social Health Authority (SHA), saying that it has become a machine for transferring public money into private pockets while ordinary Kenyans are turned away from hospitals
In a social media statement on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Otieno criticised the outrageous discoveries made by Nancy Gathungu, which revealed hospitals invoicing several open-heart operations on the same patient on the same day, hospitals reporting childbirth records as impossible, and hospitals paying billions of shillings that did not even happen. SHA, he said, instead of delivering service to the people, has joined the ranks of the machine, laundering the public money.
“The audit by Nancy Gathungu reveals absurd claims: hospitals billing for multiple open-heart surgeries on the same patient in one day, facilities reporting impossible childbirth records, and billions paid for services that never existed. This means the system run by the Social Health Authority has become a machine for transferring public money into private pockets while ordinary Kenyans are turned away from hospitals,” Willis stated.
Otieno has further said that this is one of the clearest instances of how the resources of the people are channelled into the hands of the privileged, as the people of Kenya go without basic health care services.
He also underlined the fact that the scandal confirms the FIST agenda, which is designed to de-captivate the elite and rebuild institutions focused on accountability, serving citizens, and effective service to the people.
“As the Safina Party, this scandal proves exactly why the FIST Agenda was designed: to dismantle elite capture and rebuild institutions around production, accountability, and citizen welfare,” Willis added.
Otieno’s call to the government
Otieno requested the government to take immediate action, reforming the SHA so that there would be transparency in the health sector of managing public funds. He added that the citizens of this nation have a right to a health system which serves them and not one that is exploited by individuals to make profits.
Reveal by Auditor General
The Auditor-General report presented by Nancy Gathungu gave reports that the SHA had paid Ksh 50 billion to different health facilities in the course of services which were overinflated or never provided.
Cases of duplicate billing, implausible medical procedures, and exaggerated service claims have been reported, highlighting the immediate necessity to hold people to account and make wholesale changes to the health sector in Kenya.