Kenyans have once again been shocked by the leadership of the Social Health Authority.
This time, it is not about delayed hospital claim payments or the constant system failures that frustrate patients and service providers. It is about the shameful misuse of public funds that exposes deep cracks in how the institution is being run.
Dr Mercy Mwangangi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Social Health Authority, was put on the spot before the Public Investments Committee after revelations that three law firms were paid a staggering seventy seven million shillings to recover a debt worth only thirteen million shillings.
The figures alone speak volumes about the waste and misplaced priorities within the Authority, formerly the National Health Insurance Fund.
Members of Parliament were outraged as they questioned how such an absurd payment could ever have been approved. Committee Chair Emmanuel Wangwe demanded answers, asking what value for money Kenyans were getting when legal costs were several times higher than the debt being pursued.
A screenshot of SHA’s Mercy Mwangangi being grilled by MPS
His vice chair Caleb Amisi reminded Dr Mwangangi that the country was tired of endless excuses, urging her to take responsibility instead of hiding behind inherited problems from the defunct NHIF.
Dr Mwangangi admitted that the matter arose during the transition from NHIF to SHA and promised to provide a full report within three weeks.
She argued that reforms were already underway and that new systems were being implemented to ensure transparency and accountability.
Yet her assurances did little to calm the growing frustration among lawmakers and citizens who feel that such promises have become a tired script in the public sector.
What makes this scandal more painful is the timing. Hospitals across the country continue to complain about delayed payments.
Patients are forced to dig into their pockets as facilities struggle to offer services under the new health insurance scheme. For many Kenyans, learning that tens of millions of shillings were wasted on legal fees feels like a cruel insult.
The problem goes beyond a single transaction. It points to a worrying pattern of mismanagement and lack of oversight. Public funds meant to improve healthcare are being drained through questionable deals, while ordinary citizens are left to suffer.
The Social Health Authority was supposed to be the solution to years of inefficiency under NHIF. Instead, it risks becoming a continuation of the same failures, only dressed in a new name.