CS for Health Aden Duale…Photo/IP
By IP reporter
NAKURU, Kenya (Sept. 6, 2025)
A total of 132 children, many of them toddlers, remain confined at Nakuru Level 6 Hospital nearly a week after doctors declared them fit for discharge .
The kids have been trapped by a payment dispute between the facility and the government’s newly formed Social Health Authority (SHA).
The unpaid bills have effectively turned the public hospital into a holding center for children, sparking outrage and renewed scrutiny of the agency overseen by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Parents, some sleeping on hospital floors, say they were promised full coverage under SHA but have been told to wait indefinitely.
“We were discharged days ago, but they won’t let us leave because the bill hasn’t been paid,” said Mary Wanjiru, whose 2-year-old daughter was treated for pneumonia. “We’re stuck, and no one from SHA is talking to us.”
Duale, SHA Leadership Under Fire
Duale and SHA executives have not appeared at the Nakuru facility or given a clear plan to resolve the crisis.
SHA officials have described the situation as “administrative delays,” but insiders at the Ministry of Health say the problem is systemic.
“What’s happening in Nakuru is not isolated. Hospitals are calling daily, saying they haven’t been reimbursed,” said a senior ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s a ticking time bomb.”
SHA was launched earlier this year to replace the scandal-hit National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Duale, appointed after the dismissal of former Health CS Susan Nakhumicha, had promised reforms.
Instead, critics say he is presiding over another dysfunctional bureaucracy.
Children at Risk
Medical staff at Nakuru Level 6 warn that keeping discharged children in hospital wards exposes them to unnecessary risks.
“These are not patients anymore. They are victims,” said a nurse. “We are forced to keep healthy children in the same wards as active cases. The risk of infection is real.”
Doctors also report growing psychological strain on both children and their caregivers as the standoff drags on.
Public anger Over Misplaced Priorities
The crisis has fueled public anger especially after a leaked State House budget showed more than 800 million shillings spent on tea and snacks in a single quarter.
“How is the government spending hundreds of millions on mandazi while infants are being held hostage in hospitals?” read one viral post.
Analysts warn that the government’s credibility on affordable health care is at risk.
“You can’t preach universal coverage while children are literally detained because of unpaid bills,” said Nairobi-based health economist Dr. Sylvia Kilonzo. “This is a disgrace.”
SHA’s Shaky Future
With reports of delayed reimbursements surfacing in hospitals across the country, SHA is facing a growing credibility crisis.
The agency was meant to symbolize a fresh start in Kenya’s pursuit of universal health care but is now drawing comparisons to its discredited predecessor.
For parents like Wanjiru, however, the demand is simple.
“We just want to go home,” she said, clutching her recovered daughter. “Is that too much to ask?”
