Former Chief Justice and presidential hopeful David Maraga now wants the anti-graft agency to move with speed and investigate the alleged fraud at the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Maraga, in a statement on Tuesday, said no one should be spared in what is suspected to turn out as a mega scandal involving payments of millions of shillings to small or non-existent medical facilities.
Maraga said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) should ensure those found to have colluded to defraud Kenyans face the full force of the law.
The probe, according to Maraga, should target top officials at the Ministry of Health, professional oversight bodies, and the authority itself, and culpability should no longer hide behind titles or offices.
“In the circumstances, we call upon EACC to carry out investigations and prosecute all those involved. Monies lost must be recovered, and those responsible must be prosecuted and not protected,” he said.
The CJ-Emeritus was addressing a press conference on Tuesday at the United Green Movement Party headquarters in Westlands, Nairobi.
“Something dark and deeply disturbing is happening to our healthcare system. Only yesterday, the Kenya Social Health Authority’s website went dark. The Kenya Master Facility Registry (KMFR) also vanished,” Maraga wondered.
He added, “This is not only a cover-up of heinous crimes against Kenyans but also a breach of Kenya’s Constitutional rights as these are sites that keep and verify government records on hospitals and healthcare facilities.”
The authority has, however, dismissed the claims that the site was unavailable.
"SHA remains committed to transparency as we continue rolling out Universal Health Coverage. The facility payment list has not been removed and is still accessible on our website," it said.
"The information being shared is incorrect. The Social Health Authority has not removed any hospital list from its website. SHA is committed to keeping Kenyans informed and will continue to provide timely updates," the authority added.
Maraga said the events come at a time when it is being alleged that millions of shillings were dispersed to ghost facilities and non-operational health institutions across the country, which were allegedly closed in May this year, according to Health CS Aden Duale.
“The question that remains in the minds of Kenyans is, how can such brazen and persistent theft of public resources be normalised by the government and explained away as an oversight? How can the CS in charge of health and management of SHA continue to be in office after such an exposé?” he posed.
Maraga is now demanding that the ministry align with Article 35 of the Constitution and the Access to Information Act (2016) to make a full disclosure of how much has been collected from Kenyans and how much has been dispersed under SHA.
He demanded that Afya House should also reveal how much was allocated by Parliament through the Primary Care Fund and the Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund, and the hospital or facilities to which the payments had been made.
“This information must be made public. Every Kenyan has a right to know how their money is spent, and who is accountable when its stolen,” he added.
