The crisis at the Social Health Authority has now reached a boiling point, with billions of shillings allegedly lost through fraudulent claims and payments to ghost hospitals.
Instead of addressing the rot in his own ministry, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has resorted to blame games, shifting responsibility away from himself and accusing lawmakers of being the problem.
This tactic has not only angered MPs but also exposed Duale’s failure to deal with the corruption scandal head-on.
When lawmakers under Kenya Moja demanded that he take responsibility for the mess at SHA, Duale quickly turned to blackmail accusations, saying some of them own the very facilities flagged for fraud.
Such statements make him appear more interested in shielding himself than in fixing a health sector that is collapsing under the weight of corruption.
By firing back at MPs and pointing fingers, Duale has dodged the critical issue of accountability. Billions of shillings have reportedly been siphoned through SHA, yet instead of owning up to his ministry’s role, he is busy painting himself as a victim of political witch-hunts.
His statement from Afya House read, “To weed out deep-rooted fraud within our health insurances, we urge all Kenyans to allow us to clean up, prosecute and surcharge those found culpable without interference from anybody or any office, including my former colleagues, some of whom own facilities that have been flagged through our system.”
This is not the voice of a leader taking responsibility but that of someone hiding behind accusations and excuses.
Whether or not lawmakers have their own skeletons, Duale cannot run away from the fact that the fraud happened under his watch. The public expects him to act, not to lecture MPs about their integrity.
Lawmakers, led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, had demanded that Duale step aside within 48 hours or face a censure motion. Their demand is rooted in the belief that the ministry must be accountable, especially after the exposure of alleged fraud worth billions.
But instead of calming the waters, Duale only escalated the matter by engaging in blame games. He dared MPs to produce company ownership documents linking him to any facility, a move that looked more like chest-thumping than problem-solving.
His repeated insistence on his personal integrity and public record does little to explain why taxpayers’ money is vanishing through fake claims. The real issue is not whether Duale owns hospitals but whether he has the capacity and willingness to end the rot at SHA.
His defense of the expensive Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System further exposes his inability to take criticism constructively.
Questions about inflated costs and procurement irregularities were waved off as misrepresentations, while he insisted the system is legal and necessary.
This dismissive tone, coupled with his claim that concerns about SHA leadership amount to ethnic profiling, shows a Cabinet Secretary out of touch with the frustrations of Kenyans.
Instead of accountability, Duale is offering excuses and deflections. Instead of leadership, he is giving politics.What Kenyans see now is a minister who has chosen to fight back against parliament while avoiding the responsibility that comes with his office.
The rot in the health sector is deep, and patients across the country continue to suffer as resources disappear. Duale’s blame games cannot cover up the fact that the corruption scandal exploded during his tenure.
By choosing to attack MPs rather than provide solutions, he has placed himself at the center of the mess.
His refusal to take full responsibility only makes the crisis worse and leaves Kenyans questioning whether he is fit to continue as Health Cabinet Secretary.
