Governor Njuki cracks the whip on health workers diverting patients to private clinics
By Arnold Ngure, September 9, 2025Tharaka Nithi County Governor Muthomi Njuki has put healthcare workers on notice over what he terms the diversion of patients from public hospitals to privately-owned clinics.
In a statement after touring public hospitals in the county on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, Njuki described the practice as a punishable offence, noting that it denies residents their right to quality healthcare.
“I have observed that some healthcare workers are diverting patients from our well-equipped public facilities to their privately owned clinics, with others misleading patients. This amounts to malpractice; punishable offenses that wrongfully deny our people access to quality healthcare,” Njuki said.
Betrayal of trust
“It is also an intolerable betrayal of the public trust that was accorded in good faith.”
The governor equally disclosed that he has formed a team to monitor the recurrence of such incidents in the future, and has also urged members of the public to report such matters to the county.
“I have instituted strict monitoring and accountability measures to address this, including disciplinary and legal action. Members of the public are urged to report irregularities immediately. No private clinic offers better, safer, or more comprehensive services than those found in our county’s public hospitals,” Njuki stated.
Step aside
Njuki has also urged healthcare workers who are unable to comply with his directive to step aside.
“To our healthcare workers: uphold professionalism and ethics, or step aside,” the governor said.
The remarks come hot on the heels of a sustained effort by the Ministry of Health to weed out rampant fraudulent claims for services not offered.
Dozens of health facilities have also been closed down as a result of these efforts by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to stem corruption in the healthcare sector.
Some of the common fraud in the healthcare facilities were found to be upcoding, where hospitals bill for more expensive procedures than those actually done, submission of falsified medical documents, phantom billing, which is claiming for non-existent patients, and the conversion of outpatient into inpatient.
Apart from replacing the OTP password with a mandatory biometric identification system, the government has also introduced a system to monitor patient visits and prescriptions in real time.