Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale on Tuesday firmly rejected a Daily Nation report that suggested public funds were being channelled to a private company outside the law through the national digital health system.
In a statement, CS Duale said the report created a false impression and declared: “That impression is wrong, and I reject it.”
The CS emphasised that digitisation forms the foundation of Universal Health Coverage. “You cannot register, verify and pay for the healthcare of every Kenyan on paper,” the statement noted. Section 47 of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, requires full digitisation of member identification, pre-authorisation, claims management and settlement on a secure, interoperable platform. This administration, the CS said, has delivered what previous governments never attempted: placing the entire health financing system on a single verifiable digital platform.
— Hon. Aden Duale, EGH (@HonAdenDuale) August 4, 2026
The service fee under scrutiny is not discretionary. Regulation 11(2) of the Digital Health (Data Exchange Component) Regulations, 2025, mandates that users of the shared resources pay the fee set out in the Third Schedule. That schedule fixes the Health Information Management Service charge at two per cent of the service offered through HIMS, capped at a maximum of KES 5,000. “It is therefore a capped fee for the use of a system. It is not an open-ended share of any hospital’s earnings,” the CS Duale stated.
The fee is paid to the Digital Health Agency, a State agency established under the Digital Health Act, 2023. Section 48(1)(c) of the Act expressly allows the Agency to collect levy fees for services rendered. “This is a charge by a public body, for a public system, authorised by statute,” the statement stressed.
Crucially, no private entity receives, holds or disburses funds due to healthcare providers. Under the Social Health Insurance Act, only the Social Health Authority reviews, processes and pays claims to contracted providers. That responsibility has not been delegated.
Every shilling received by the Digital Health Agency is public money. Its accounts are audited under the Public Finance Management Act and Public Audit Act, with financial statements tabled in the National Assembly after the Auditor-General’s report. “There is no parallel account and no hidden ledger,” the CS affirmed.
The system is delivered under a government contract with the Safaricom Consortium, procured in accordance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act. Sub-contracting is permitted and does not make any sub-contractor a recipient of public funds outside the law or give it any role in paying hospitals.
The Regulations themselves underwent a regulatory impact assessment, public participation, stakeholder consultation and approval by both Houses of Parliament before gazettement on 11 April 2025. “A fee set out in a published law, debated and approved by Parliament, is not a mystery,” the CS said.
The matter is now before the High Court, where the Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale is named as a respondent. The Government will file its full response on the record and will abide by the court’s determination. “I will not litigate this matter in the press,” the statement concluded.
The CS directed the Social Health Authority and Digital Health Agency to continue engaging healthcare providers through existing stakeholder mechanisms and to resolve claims complaints without delay. “Every shilling under Taifa Care belongs to the Kenyan patient,” the Cabinet Secretary declared.
