Maraga calls for forensic audit of SHA over graft queries
By Cy Muganda, August 26, 2025Former Chief Justice David Maraga has called for a forensic audit of the Social Health Authority (SHA), citing deep-seated corruption that has deprived Kenyans of critical health services.
In a statement issued on his X account on August 26, 2025, Maraga decried what he termed as unchecked rot within the Ministry of Health and its regulatory agencies, warning that billions of shillings in taxpayer funds have been lost through fraudulent schemes.
“The betrayal of the Kenyan people by those entrusted to safeguard their health will no longer be tolerated,” Maraga stated.
He criticised systemic failures in the Ministry of Health and its regulatory bodies, arguing that ghost hospitals and fake health facilities have been siphoning public money while genuine institutions remain underfunded.
“Those who have colluded to defraud the nation, regardless of title or office, must face the full force of the law,” he added.
Comprehensive audit
Maraga, who has declared his interest in the 2027 presidential race, announced that the audit should focus on funds collected through the Social Health Insurance Fund, parliamentary allocations to the Primary Care Fund and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund, as well as payments made to hospitals, suppliers and vendors.
Insisting that all recipient identities be disclosed publicly, he urged SHA to leverage its digital systems to expose corruption rather than conceal it, warning that failure to do so would put its leadership on the line for legal accountability.
“This information MUST be made public. Every Kenyan has the right to know how their money is spent, and who is accountable when it is stolen,” Maraga stressed.
Ghost hospitals
Maraga’s statement comes barely a day after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale dismissed reports that the Social Health Authority (SHA) has been paying millions of shillings to ghost hospitals.
In a statement posted on his X account on August 25, 2025, Duale reiterated his earlier assertions that many facilities being circulated online as fraudulent had been sanctioned earlier in the year.
“No amount of propaganda or blackmail will deter us from fixing our healthcare system. We know saboteurs of SHA have recruited several groups, including some sections of the media, to advance their agenda. Let them be warned: We are fixing this thing regardless of the noise,” Duale wrote.
“The facilities you found circulating on social media are facilities thatthe majority of them were closed in May, some were suspended, some were downgraded. What Kenyans on social media are telling us is information that we already have,” he added.
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