An activist has moved to court challenging the government’s directive to parents to register their children for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) before schools open for the third term.

In an application filed under a certificate of urgency, the activist, Joseph Aura through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui argues that the directive is irrational as the Act was declared unconstitutional by the High Court.

The application comes after Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang (pictured) issued a circular directing that all learners to register as dependents of their parents in the new scheme, which is set to replace the present National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) before schools re-opened in Monday.

The activist accuses the government of acting in a dictatorial manner by making such a directive on such short notice.

“This dictatorial directive is clearly an arbitrary and wholly irrational mandate; in all but name enforcing Section 26(5) of the Social Health Insurance Fund Act, 2023, which was declared unconstitutional by the High Court’s Constitutional Court in the judgment herein appealed against by the CS Ministry of Health, and against which a very limited part is cross appealed by the applicant herein Joseph Aura,” the court documents state.

He adds that the directive by the PS imposing the arbitrary precondition to Kenyan learners on such an impossibly short notice, let alone imposing it in the first place, and while fully aware that the current National academic Year’s Third Term commences on the succeeding Monday, August 26th, 2024 when no law has been validated under Article 24 of the Constitution on such a draconian action stands in clear breach of the children’s and learners’ right to education.