Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has unleashed a stinging critique of the Social Health Authority (SHA), calling on teachers to reject the new medical scheme’s restrictive and “unfair” hospital directives.
Speaking at the Prophetic Embassy Church of All Nations in Bamburi, Mombasa, Gachagua accused the government of misrepresenting the program’s success. He argued that the system is collapsing despite the administration’s public claims of seamless performance.
“SHA is not working, but the government is saying it is working. SHA is the greatest fraud in the history of independent Kenya.”
Joined by opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka, Justin Muturi, and Eugene Wamalwa, Gachagua pointed to teachers as the group most burdened by the transition. He claimed that educators now face unexpected costs, often having to pay out-of-pocket for outpatient services that were previously covered.
Furthermore, he alleged that the government is funneling teachers toward specific public facilities that lack the basic resources necessary for proper care. According to the former deputy president, these county-run hospitals are currently struggling under the weight of an Sh8 billion debt owed to them by the SHA.
“Teachers are in anguish, as they are being forced to add money to get outpatient treatment, they are also being told to go to county government hospitals. County government hospitals have no drugs, there are no bandages, no gloves. County government hospitals are owed Sh8 billion by SHA.”
Gachagua challenged teachers to resist current healthcare restrictions, arguing that the freedom to choose a medical facility should rest with the patient rather than the state. He asserted that the current top-down approach flips the necessary power dynamic between professionals and the healthcare system.
“I want to tell teachers not to accept to be told which hospitals to go to. It should be the other way round; they are the ones who should decide which hospitals to go to,” he said.
Taking his rhetoric further, Gachagua encouraged educators to initiate industrial action. He suggested that collective labor pressure is the only way for teachers to force an exit from the Social Health Authority (SHA) and return to a more dependable insurance model that prioritizes quality service.
“Teachers must wake up and demand from their leaders industrial action so that they can exit SHA and go back to an insurance scheme that will give them good services,” Gachagua added.
He also predicted an inevitable collapse for the SHA, describing it as a potential landmark corporate failure. Gachagua closed with a warning to private healthcare providers, advising them to secure their finances now to avoid being dragged down when the system eventually fails.
“SHA, when it collapses as it will, will be the greatest corporate loss in the history of Kenya. We are telling hospitals to be careful so that when SHA collapses, it does not go down with your funds.”
Richard Kamau
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