A Nairobi High Court has ruled that the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) is legal but faulted the 2024 rollout, noting that it constitutes procedural irregularities that require corrective oversight.

In his ruling on Thursday, March 19, 2026, Justice Bahati Mwamuye stated that the court has established that the statutory and regulatory architecture establishing the SHIF system is constitutionally sound.

However, he has ruled that the national rollout of SHIF on October 1, 2024, occurred before the necessary administrative and technological infrastructure was fully prepared.

Judge Mwamuye stated that evidence shows that during the early phase of implementation, many Kenyans were unable to access essential and life-saving medical services.

Notably, he stated that the procurement of the Integrated Health Information Technology System (IHITS) under SHIF did not meet the public transparency as per the constitution.

“Upon careful scrutiny of the record, the court finds that while the decision to procure IHITS under this framework may have been driven by legitimate urgency, certain procedural safeguards contemplated by section 114(A) were not demonstrated with the level of transparency expected for a project of such magnitude,” Judge Mwamuye ruled.

Further, he noted that for a project of such magnitude the justification for limiting competitive procurement was insufficiently documented, and the transparency expected for a project of national importance was not fully demonstrated.

However, the court declined to nullify the contract issue, noting that doing so will affect many Kenyans since nullification will lead to disruption of health services.

“To nullify the system or invalidate the IHITS contract at this stage would risk precipitating a profound disruption in the health sector and jeopardise the state’s efforts to achieve universal health coverage. Constitutional adjudication requires not only fidelity to principle but also prudence in remedy,” Judge Mwamuye stated.

“These shortcomings do not warrant nullification of the procurement, but they do constitute procedural irregularities requiring corrective oversight,” the judge added.

Finally, the court ordered the government, through the Ministry of Health, to file in court and serve upon all parties a comprehensive affidavit setting out an actual plan detailing the measures to be undertaken to remedy the violations identified in the judgement, including ensuring that no person is denied emergency or life-saving medical treatment within 90 days from the date of the judgement.