Renowned City Lawyer Willis Otieno has sharply criticised Kenya’s Social Health Authority (SHA) system, describing it as a debt collection agency.

In a post on his official X account on Saturday, May 9, 2026, Otieno slammed the government for spending at least Ksh104 billion to build an AI-driven model, which he says is not owned by the government despite the amount spent on its purchase.

“SHA is not a health authority; it’s a debt collection agency for private tech firms. KSh 104 billion spent on the system. 0% Government ownership. 100% taxpayer frustration,” Otieno said.

Faith Odhiambo’s remarks to SHA

Otieno’s remarks come moments after Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo also criticised Kenya’s Social Health Authority (SHA) system, accusing its AI-driven model of unfairly burdening low-income earners while benefiting wealthier citizens.

Taking to her official X account on Saturday, May 9, 2026, Odhiambo described the system as a form of “digital poverty extraction”, arguing that it is worsening inequality in access to healthcare financing rather than solving it.

She faulted the design of the SHA contribution model, saying it fails to capture the lived realities of vulnerable Kenyans, particularly low-income mothers and informal workers.

“AI-driven Social Health Authority (SHA) was sold to us as a revolution in healthcare financing. However, the algorithm overcharges the poorest Kenyans while undercharging the wealthy. A single mother earning Ksh3,500/month is now billed Ksh1,030 for health cover. That is digital poverty extraction,” Odhiambo stated.

She further argued that the system assumes income is the only measure of ability to pay, ignoring caregiving responsibilities, unemployment gaps, and other social pressures.

“A mother struggling to put food on the table is reduced to an affordability score by an opaque algorithm that cannot measure exhaustion, caregiving, vulnerability or survival,” she stated.

Concerns over AI-driven healthcare financing

Odhiambo also questioned the use of artificial intelligence in determining healthcare contributions, saying the algorithm appears opaque and lacks adequate public accountability.

She warned that while technology is often presented as neutral, it can reinforce existing inequalities when designed without strong social safeguards.

“Technology should serve human dignity. This one entrenches inequality and calls it algorithmic neutrality. The poor are not data points. They are Kenyans who deserve better healthcare,” she wrote on X.