Former Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri has come out to defend Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale from opposition politicians calling for his dismissal from the health docket.

While addressing the nation through his social media pages on Monday, September 1, 2025, the former MP vehemently defended Duale, stating that the reason he is being fought by most opposition politicians is because of his firm stance against corruption that has bedevilled the Social Health Authority (SHA).

He further claimed that those fighting him are mostly the cartels behind the loss of funds in the entity. According to him, Duale is trying to bring sanity into an institution that has long been affected by corruption, even before the transition from NHIF to SHA.

Ngunjiri also took issue with opposition leaders, saying it is disappointing to see leaders positioning themselves to lead the country yet opposing the fight against corruption. He questioned what Duale has done to warrant dismissal from the Health Ministry, noting that Duale has only been in office for three months and the issues grappling the sector are perennial, dating back to the days of NHIF.

“Naskia upinzani wakisema Duale must go. Where do you want Duale to go, kwa sababu amegundua wizi wenu? If you can’t support the fight against corruption, then you are part of corruption, na wengine wanasema wanataka kuongoza nchi hii. How do you lead when you are opposing?” Ngunjiri said.

According to Ngunjiri, Duale is the only cure for the controversies in SHA since, in just three months, he has identified the root of the problems and managed to stop billions of shillings from being lost.

Advice to Duale

He further encouraged Duale not to give up in his efforts to bring sanity to Afya House, urging him not to relent in his fight against corruption and to ignore critics, saying their calls are baseless.

“What has Duale done? It has taken him only 3 months to know what has been bedevilling SHA. Don’t give up, Duale; stick to the fight against corruption. The calls from the opposition and the cartels are all meaningless; they have no foundation,” Ngunjiri said.

He also urged the opposition that, should they one day want to lead the country as they currently aspire, they should also join the fight against corruption so that when their time comes.

This comes at a time when Duale has refused to relent on his fight against corruption in SHA, even delisting and closing down health facilities that are found making exaggerated claims to the SHA. He has even threatened to issue fraud files belonging to these facilities to DCI for investigation