President William Ruto addressing residents in Ugunja Town, Siaya County, on August 31, 2025./PCS
President William Ruto has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to fighting graft, warning that government officials opposed to the newly introduced electronic procurement system have no place in his government.
Ruto further said those implicated in fraudulent activities within the Social Health Insurance Fund will be required to refund any stolen public funds, besides being prosecuted.
“There are people who want to stick to the old ways, where the government buys a product worth Sh2 at Sh10,” the President said.
“Any officials not ready to embrace e-procurement can as well leave. They will not stop us from ensuring resources are used properly.”
Ruto spoke at a service at St Peter’s ACK Cathedral in Alego Usonga, Siaya county—the home turf of his foe-turned-political ally, Raila Odinga.
The President said there would be no turning back in the war against corruption and wastage of public resources, emphasising that the new digital system will open government spending to public scrutiny, ensuring taxpayers’ money is accounted for.
“Procurement should be open for all Kenyans to know how their money is being spent,” he added.
The e-Government Procurement system was officially launched on April 7 and is set to become the sole platform for all public procurement processes across ministries, departments and government agencies starting from the 2025-26 financial year.
In regard to alleged fraud at the Social Health Insurance Fund, Ruto vowed to recover stolen public funds and prosecute those responsible.
“We are telling those who think the theft they were doing at the National Hospital Insurance Fund can be replicated at SHIF that they are daydreaming.
“Any hospital, whether public, private or faith-based, if they have stolen NHIF money, they will pay that money. If they have brought corruption to SHIF, they will pay back that money and we will prosecute them,” he said.
He noted that SHIF’s enhanced digital monitoring system has flagged long-standing irregularities that went undetected under the defunct NHIF.
“The system we have introduced is exposing issues that have been ongoing for years. People think this is new corruption—no, the difference is that now the system can detect it.”
The government is verifying Sh30 billion owed to hospitals from the NHIF era, despite resistance and legal threats from facilities.
“If we say we want to verify that debt, hospitals threaten to go to court because they know in there, there is theft,” Ruto said.
He insisted the reforms are key to restoring public trust in healthcare financing.
“We will not allow past irregularities to affect the future of SHIF. Every shilling must serve the people.”
Ruto also announced projects worth over Sh22 billion in Siaya. They include the renovation of Siaya Stadium (Sh500 million), the construction of a new Siaya Teaching and Referral Hospital (Sh550 million), 11,000-capacity student hostels worth Sh5.5 billion, 8,000 affordable housing units and Sh1.5 billion markets.
In a rare show of political goodwill, leaders allied to Raila praised Ruto’s development agenda in the region.
Siaya Governor James Orengo lauded the President’s initiatives, saying, “So long as you work with the people of Kenya and Siaya, the future is bright for President Ruto and for Kenyans.”
Raila’s elder brother, Oburu Odinga, added: “Our people are very straightforward. If they don’t want you, they will tell you to your face. If they love you, they will also tell you. And from the faces here, you can see they love you because you have shown them love.”
Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo assured Ruto of political support in 2027, declaring: “You have our assurance that we will elect you again so that we can have progressive development going forward.”
INSTANT ANALYSIS
SHIF, which replaced NHIF as Kenya’s national health insurance scheme, introduced reforms to improve transparency and accountability.
These include mandatory registration, biometric identification, a real-time digital system for monitoring claims and a means-testing mechanism to assess contributions for unemployed and self-employed individuals.
The new system has already had an impact. On August 26, SHIF chief executive Dr Mercy Mwangangi announced the suspension of several health facilities from the national scheme due to suspected irregularities. The suspensions, published in an official gazette notice, affect hospitals across multiple counties.
