A GOVERNMENT DEFINED BY MISPLACED PRIORITIES: RHETORIC, REALITY, AND THE BETRAYAL OF CITIZENS

ABSTRACT 

‘Sometimes, and those times are many, wisdom demands that we remain silent.’ This is such a time. Not my words but those of the phenomenal Prof PLO Lumumba, which have never made more sense than such a time as this. Over the past two years, but most notably one month ago, over and above the usual presidency's far fetched promises and roadside executive directives , he chose to go a step further to do a self appraisal. He vehemently lauded himself of as the most accomplished President Kenya has ever had since its inception. He asserted his close to three decades experience, academic milestones coupled by his youthful energy buttresses his assertions. Further he mentioned that which I quote in verbatim " I was born and raised in the grassroots. I understand Kenya's problems. There has never been a President with my level of education, knowledge and experience that's why I must perform.' Nevertheless, throughout my paper, I will be demystifying the 'performance' of this government, which has been nothing short of civic repression and oppression, roadside directives that are rarely adhered to, and misplaced priorities. It will then reaffirm my position of why there should be less talking and supplement it by action as the citizenry is groaning in pain and agony over policies that are bringing more harm than good. They do not in any way reflect a man who resonates with the grassroots struggles as he alludes. With that, I hope it will be a wake up call to the leadership led by the presidency, that if your actions don't live up to your words you have nothing to say. 

INTRODUCTION

 The thrust of my discourse is the ongoing capitation crisis in schools and institutions of higher learning tracing it as from July 2025 . Massive layoffs, delayed salaries and threats of auctioning are just a few examples of the afflictions facing learning institutions in the country. I equally uncover that the funding crunch facing schools might be occasioned among other things, by the funding of ghost schools as unveiled by the auditor general , Dr. Nancy Gathungu. I then transition to address the woes arising from the inefficiency of SHIF managed by SHA .104 billion KSH was used for the digitization of services offered by SHA, promising far greater rewards in terms of service delivery as compared from NHIF which was tainted by corruption. However, the same mischief that plagued the now defunct NHIF, has now found its way back in SHA. Again, the same story of funding ghost facilities arises, with a non-operational facility receiving close to 20 million Kenya shillings This shows that the real issue facing the health sector is not lack finances, but how they are being managed after being released by the treasury to SHA for disbursement. I finally conclude by urging the government to refrain from playing politics, quelling dissent and accept criticism, in order to salvage the state of these two sectors that are in a turmoil. I equally propose solutions that the government can explore in their deliberations. 

CAPITATION CRISIS IN SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

 It was a moment of profound sadness, when public schools were compelled into premature closure for their August Holiday, not for rest but to due significant shortage of capitation. What is even more heart wrenching, was that some were even facing threats of auction due to accumulated arrears owed to suppliers. For some, their last straw to clutch on, is donations in terms of food from well wishers, which more often than not, is not a predictable source of funding. This was confirmed by Treasury CS Honorable Mbadi. During his appearance at the National Assembly before the Education Committee revealed that the Free Education Programme is becoming unsustainable and burdensome on the government. Under normal circumstances, each primary school learner ought to receive an annual capitation of Kshs1420, Kshs15,042 for Junior Secondary students, and Kshs22,244 for senior secondary school learners. 

However, CS Mbadi while revealing the overall decrease of capitation in schools, specifically commented that the secondary school capitation had reduced from Kshs22,244 to Kshs16,428. This reduction cuts have since sparked nationwide debates and fueled anxiety from education stakeholders such as National Parents Association. Mr Silas Obuhatsa who is the Chairperson of this association, lamented on the bad timing of these cuts which have come at a time when parents are still reeling from the post-covid economic shocks. On top of that, he cautions that it may lock out students in rural areas whose parents are struggling to make ends meet. 

While at it, the higher education institutions are equally not spared of this funding crisis. Prolonged under-funding culminating to outstanding debts, unpaid salaries and overall strain of service delivery to the surging student numbers is the new norm in these institutions. The government seems to be running out of options amid all this as universities are resorting to shutting down of satellite campuses and freezing of new academic programs. Despite masses terming this crisis as a betrayal of poor students at a time when their families are struggling with the tough economic times, CS Mbadi is hellbent on the new yet controversial funding model .Critics lament that the government is simply absconding its responsibilities and offloading the cost of education onto already overburdened families—leaving behind thousands of bright, poor students with nowhere to go. 

In addition, just weeks ago, an expose by various media houses revealed the deplorable state of Kathanga, Kiairanthi, Gatiriku, Gakuyu and Kathandeni Primary Schools in Tharaka Nithi County. Classrooms characterized by caving in walls and air infused with dust, some using corroded iron sheets as substitute partitions instead of standard classrooms are the conditions the students are forced to contend with, in their pursuit of gaining knowledge. The situation in their dormitories is no different as they are equally in shambles. Further, this schools are facing other hefty challenges such as access to clean water and more often than not, they are compelled to trek up to eight kilometers to fetch water from River Tana. 

Meanwhile, the deputy president who hails from this region is in a seemingly nationwide spending spree of dishing out millions in the name of ‘empowerment programme yet it is evident that he is sourcing for political support ahead of the 2027 general elections. He has received a lot of criticism for neglecting his own backyard. Not too long ago he was captured trying to convince the masses of his gait in response to the criticisms from one of the opposition leaders, Justin Muturi, who had derided his voice as thin without bass. In another instance, he is caught engaging his audience with a slogan ‘ ngumi ni mbwegze’ , in an attempt to call on their support ahead of the upcoming 2027 general elections. 

Beloved, this is a clear depiction of a country that is ever in a campaigning mode, as the leaders abdicate the single their single solemn duty, to put the interests of the wananchi at the forefront ahead of their own. This is a clear case of misplaced priorities, as the precious time lost campaigning for their re-election should be used to deliberate on how to salvage the country from this education crisis. Moreover, parents might be left in a limbo over two voices in the executive that are contradicting each other. This is following the President’s remarks, His Excellency Doctor William Ruto, who dispelled the CS for Treasury vehemently assertions that the Free Education Programmes are increasingly becoming untenable. While he reaffirmed his commitment not to compromise the quality of education, more action needs to be seen being done. 

Most importantly, action needs to be taken on the recent shocking revelation done by the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in an audit curated for capitation and infrastructure grants in schools submitted to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. It unveiled that 33 non existent or what you would call ‘ghost’ schools, have been receiving funds amounting to billions of shillings in the past four years, yet schools have been facing a budget deficit of close to 117 billion. Investigations need to be launched immediately and the perpetrators brought to the book. The government ought to bear in mind that such perpetrators are not only running afoul to the constitutional guarantee of the right to education under article 43(1)(f) of the Constitution Of Kenya, 2010, but are also a threat to the future of this country. One of the main objectives of the free primary education was to dismantle the myth that education was a preserve of the children from the elite families. It was meant to bridge the social gap between the poor and the rich thus uniting Kenyans. Therefore, the government needs to unravel this revelation with such great urgency, seeing that by extension, it is a threat to national unity. 

SOCIAL HEALTH AUTHORITY DEBACLE 

Universal Health Coverage was part of Kenya Kwanza’s manifesto. Around it, SHA was established by the Social Health Authority Act, 2023, and was tasked with the oversight and management of the three financial pillars of UHC. That is the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Social Health Insurance fund, the Emergency Chronic and Critical Illness Fund. SHA came as a replacement of NHIF which was heavily criticized for being dysfunctional. Thus, it created an enabling environment where corruption thrived, at the expense of funding healthcare services. However, over the recent days, the funding crunch crisis in hospitals, arising from the inefficiency of Social Health Insurance Fund, which is managed by the Social Health Authority(SHA), has sparked heated debate across the country. SHA has been heavily criticized not only by public hospitals, but also the private hospitals. These two categories of hospitals are citing that there have been claims tendered to SHA to disburse 93 billion Kenya Shillings for the SHIF, yet only 50 billion has been reimbursed. This leaves a staggering deficit of 43 billion. 

For Private Hospitals, they have claims amounting to 76 Billion Kenya Shillings owed by SHA alongside pending bills from the obsolete NHIF. This is according to the The Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (Rupha). Through its Chairman, Brian Lishenga, while speaking to journalists in Meru, he revealed that Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit and Samburu Counties have largely beared the brunt of delayed funding for SHIF. He further lamented that notwithstanding a ministerial directive that SHA reimbursements should be made on the 14th of every month, there has been no compliance on this regard. The resultant effect has been compromised healthcare services as they are already stretched thin. 

Intensifying the sector’s predicament, is the 10,000 inpatient beds and 3500 maternity beds that have been scrapped off from the SHA portal without explanation, in spite of hospitals holding valid Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council Licenses. Additionally, there are pending arrears from the now defunct NHIF of approximately 33 billion which has not been settled despite the President’s directive five month’s ago.14 This payment delays have occasioned accumulating debts owed to suppliers, non-remittance of staff wages and even threatening insolvency.

The series of sabotage in the private sector through bed capacity reductions and facility downgrades, has had a ripple effect in the rural areas, where more often than not, private health facilities are closer to the people than public health facilities. Numerous level 3 facilities in far flung areas of Kenya can no longer conduct deliveries. This is courtesy of SHA scrapping of their emergency rooms from the portal, leaving expectant women with no other viable option than to trek for hours to get to the nearest public health facility. 

Grappling with the threat of closure due to debts which are escalating by the day, a good number of private hospitals have boycotted SHIF and have resorted to cash-only basis to curb financial losses. Patients have thus been compelled to shift to public health facilities, since they cannot afford the medical expenses incurred in private health facilities. However, this has opened a can of worms as the public hospitals are straining to accommodate the surging number of patients flocking in to these facilities to receive treatment. Some hospitals have even been forced to put up tents, to serve the ever growing number of patients in need of medical attention. To add on to the mounting desperation of the patients crowded in the hospital corridors, is the utter disappointment that SHA just as in private hospitals, is equally inefficient thus have to pay cash to be attended to or explore other options. Amidst the government being hellbent that the SHIF is operational and the private hospitals boycott, are innocent patients carrying the weight of an inefficient system which is vivid. 

Talking to locals in my village the narrative is no different. They were quick to pinpoint of the increasing number of harambee announcements made in the Church, pleading with the congregants to assemble in their homesteads, to pool funds to assist in offsetting their family member’s hospital bill. Some who are alive and unfortunately, others who have passed on. 

On top of this, SHA has been faulted by the Senate for failing to settle 8.14 Billion arising from unremitting insurance benefit claims to families of public servants who passed on or sustained injuries while performing their duties. The default in settling this claims has been affected close to 7200 families. Out of this, 4000 deaths are from teachers while 3200 deaths are from civil servants. Bungoma Senator Honorable Wakoli Wafuli, spurred on this discussion by appealing to the Senate to probe SHA’s neglect to remit claims accrued under civil servants, national youth service and teachers enhanced insurance schemes for three financial years-2020/2021, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024. This is consequential to the assertions of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Treasury, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, that this docket had released 1.6 Billion Kenya Shillings to SHA to depict their zeal in settling the issue. Nonetheless, SHA is yet to disburse these funds. 

Adding on to this debacle, is the alarming disclosure that SHA has been funding ghost hospitals. This revelation, was made by the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Aden Duale and was confirmed by the futility of civilians access to the SHA website after his press statement. The lists of disbursements to hospitals were missing as well as the website containing records on accredited health facilities, had ceased to function, yet they ought to be open for public access and scrutiny. Moreover, the Kenya Master Heath Facility Registry, which contains details of facilities endorsed by SHA, including their location, category, bed capacity, services offered alongside other services had malfunctioned. This was a direct assault to the citizen’s right to access information held by the State as per article 35(1)(a) of the COK. 

A good illustration of disbursements made to ghost hospitals is the Nyandiwa Health Centre Case. SHA is documented to have remitted KSH 19,998,720 to this dispensary in August 2025 pursuant to claims for reimbursement for patients treatment. Despite being nonoperational for the last 10 years, SHA’s website indicates that the dispensary was accredited by Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council in 2024 under permit GK-0113891. It thus remains a lingering mystery how a non-operational hospital has not only been licensed by KMPDC, but has also been receiving funds. A similar puzzle engulfs Gongo Health Centre in Siaya in what is seen as a deliberate error. Claims processed by SHA arising from unkown individuals, are believed to have validated disbursements made to Gongo Health Centre. However, it is worthwhile to note that these claims did not stem from Gongo but were rerouted from another hospital in Homa Bay . This was confirmed by a senior health official in Gongo, who while drawing from their SHA dashboard, showed the disparity in the registration details used to wire funds to them and their actual registration details; GK-013679 MFL code 13587. Some SHA insiders consider that a similar trick might have been used to dispatch funds to Nyandiwa Dispensary. When confronted with the disbursement of funds to Nyandiwa Dispensary, Health Cabinet Secretary Honorable Aden Duale, his line of defence was that it was an error. 

Bearing this in mind, it then begs the question of how these fraudulent claims pushed their way through a 104 Billion system meant to detect fraud. During the rolling out phase this technological healthcare system in October 2024, the then Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai, during an interview with Nation Media House, alluded that the digitization of health services was meant to scrap off human contact which was the main cause of the inefficiency of the now defunct National Health Insurance Fund. 

The NHIF, which was the country’s social health insurance scheme since 1966 was heavily criticized of its inefficiency and gruesome corruption and by the time it became obsolete in 2024, it had arrears worth 30 Billion Kenya Shillings. Nevertheless, the former Health PS intimated that with the new technological order, it promises efficiency and transparency as claims for hospital reimbursements and contracts will be expedited. This is because these claims would be lodged directly to the system and trigger payments after the verification process and thus moving away from the NHIF modus operandi, where the verification process was carried out by the staff, created an avenue for manipulation and corruption. A few months to October 2024, the President hammered this point by averring that “They think we are fools? There is no government money that will be used to pay for any system because we want to sort out the problem of the fraud of the past. A lot of money that was being collected by NHIF used to be stolen by brokers and crooks who used to pretend they have hospitals through fake claims, fraudulent claims and consumed almost 40 per cent of the money that was being raised by NHIF and that shall never happen again when I am still the President.”

Yet as per the status quo, the same problems the digitization process piloted by SHA was meant to rectify, are haunting them in just less than a year. While the Health Cabinet Secretary is hell bent on critically acclaiming this technological healthcare system for its vigilance in fraud detection, he is just missing the crux of the matter. If at all the system was meant to eliminate the mischief's under the defunct NHIF, the objective ought to fraud prevention and not merely fraud detection.Otherwise, on the face of it, the same corruption is still embedded in the healthcare system masked by the veneer of digitization yet substantially it is still the same anomaly. Behind every press briefing, suspension of hospital licenses and political declarations are untold woes, mysteries and heart-wrenching stories of patients digging deep into their pockets which are already burdened with scarcity, just to receive treatment. They continue to bear the brunt brought about by the government which is seemingly absconding its duty to provide healthcare to its citizens as authorized under article 21(1) read in conjunction with article 43(1)(a) of the COK. 

Additionally, if at all the government had the interests of people at heart while rolling out this system, much deliberation and scrutiny of the state of healthcare in the country then would have taken place. Just as Eric Latiff put it, a census of private, public and faith based facilities offering healthcare services would have been conducted and from my perspective, for two reasons. First to get an accurate number of the hospitals in the country, thus eliminating the present crisis of funding ghost hospitals . Second, to gauge their readiness to transit from NHIF to SHIF including adequate staffing and equipment. Simultaneously, the Health Committee in Parliament would have had a seating with NHIF and among other things, engage them on their assets and liabilities as at that time, then liaise with the ministry of health to verify the same. This preparation phase would have enabled them to identify possible loopholes and put in place strategies to ensure they’re not manipulated. 

However, the rushed transition process from NHIF to SHA without taking time to consider these crucial steps is one of the major reasons why the SHA is in limbo. It therefore stretches credibility to believe that the government had a people-centred approach while rolling out this system rather than political expediency . What seems to be more evident is the later edict. I believe we all remember Nurse Grace Mulei’s unfortunate and traumatizing experience which was heavily condemned by LSK. Having been stretched to the limit and being taken round in circles, she gallantly stormed a press briefing conference in a boardroom at Afya House, on 15th January 2025. 

She was armed not with machetes or knives, only her voice, respectfully venting out her SHA woes and pleading for SHA to work. Yet, 9 days later, while at Nairobi’s Ladnan Hospital for consultation , not less than ten police officers dragged her along the hospital corridors and put her in their vehicle. Destination, Capital Police Station. All this happened amid efforts and protests of administrators at the hospital, pleading with the police officers to abandon their mission. As per Grace Mulei’s narration, she termed arrest being more of an abduction as he was taken to three different places before being taken to the police. To cut the long story short, she was detained overnight after the efforts of her advocate and an LSK representative to secure her release on bond or bail proved futile in the eyes of the Commanding Officer. This took place notwithstanding her painful knee in urgent need of surgery, hypertension and diabetes. On 25th January 2025, she was released on a bail of  Kshs10,000 after her arraignment in court, pressed with charges of disturbance. 

Politics over service is the common thread running through Nurse Njoki’s incident. It achieves no greater good for the government to quell and punish dissent yet the relevance and ultimate impact of their projects, is pegged on listening to all stakeholders including the patients. The government should have taken that opportune time to pause, mull over and rectify the operational challenges bedeviling SHA. Nevertheless, they chose the political way, defending and boasting of the success of SHA while in the actual sense, it was not. They might have succeeded in reducing the noise over SHA then. Now, the cry for justice and action over the implementation of SHIF by SHA is loud and clear as seen by the reports in the news daily. 

CONCLUSION

The list of misplaced priorities could go on and on including the recent revelation by the auditor general that Statehouse withdrew Kshs 3.6 billion for travelling and meetings just under 42 days. Yet, one cannot seamlessly pick out the gains of these international travels as the state of the economy is still not at its best. It’s a high time the government resets the zeitgeist. Rather than blowing its on trumpet during political rallies or meetings, and making abstract declarations that are far off from the reality, its time to get down to business and tackle the real issues facing Kenya. Just a week ago, reports reveal that schools are staring at the brink of closure as funds met to cater for their third term are yet to be disbursed. cuts its exorbitant spending and redirect money to critical areas. It is a matter of urgency that the government thinks on its feet on how to combat the capitation crisis facing schools. For example, the government should cut on its exorbitant spending on unnecessary travelling and redirect that money to the current and critical underfunded sectors such as the education sector. Alongside this, it is the right moment to deliberate on the possibility of rewiring the money meant for bursaries under the NG-CDF, to be lodged directly to school capitation, in the quest of sealing loopholes that enable corruption to thrive. 

With regards to the health sector, deflecting responsibility to KMPDC, terming the critics of SHA as saboteurs, and even going to the extent of quelling dissent by instilling fear, the government should just accept the blanket truth that SHA is not working. This is largely due to its rushed roll out. Furthermore, the culture of issuing roadside directives over vehicle roof tops or during meetings of people from various counties, should be a thing of the past. The same directive issued by the President on 27th August 2025, during a meeting with a delegation from Kiambu county, that SHA fraudsters will not only be arrested and prosecuted, but will also be subjected to forced restitution of the funds siphoned from the system. A similar directive was issued by the health CS Aden Duale on July yet nothing really happened. 

The government, spearheaded by the Ministry of health should be deliberate on probing and getting a list of these fraudsters that are circumventing the law, forward the names to the DCI and eventually ensure they are prosecuted. The Judiciary should equally step up to its role and call a spade a spade.They should refrain from functioning as an appendage of the executive as it has been witnessed in other recent instances, and ensure the people brought to the court if at all they are the real fraudsters, and have not been brought forward as sacrificial lambs of the actual culprits, meet the full force of the law. To sum it all up, the government should fix the nation and politics will fix itself.