SHA on the spot for spending Sh77m on court cases valued at just Sh13m
Health & Science
By
Mercy Kahenda
| Oct 23, 2025
The Social Health Authority (SHA) was put on the spot to explain how it spent Sh77 million on legal representation, only to recover Sh13 million, raising concerns over wastage of taxpayers’ money at a time when Kenyans are struggling to access quality healthcare.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture heard that the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), now a liability of SHA, incurred Sh247.9 million in legal expenses, out of which Sh91 million was paid for cases whose estimated value was only Sh13.9 million.
Appearing before the committee chaired by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, a representative from the Auditor General’s Office said the amount resulted in an unexplained and unreconciled overpayment of Sh77.6 million.
The audit further revealed that payments made for legal services were contrary to the Advocate’s Remuneration Order, while expenditures on hospitality and entertainment could not be verified.
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“In the circumstances, the propriety, accuracy and completeness of Sh1,008,118 and Sh77,646,197 on hospitality/entertainment and legal expenses respectively, both totalling Sh78,654,315, could not be confirmed,” the Auditor General’s representative told the committee.
In a heated session, MPs demanded an explanation from the SHA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mercy Mwangangi and other top officials.
When asked to justify the huge disparity between expenditure and recovery, SHA’s legal representative, Rose Nakhun, said she would investigate the cause of the mismatch.
However, outgoing Finance Director Robert Ingasira admitted that the spending was wasteful. “It is not prudent to use Sh77 million to recover Sh13 million under legal expenses,” he said.
Spending wasteful
Hard-pressed to explain why the decision to settle on the tender to push for the legal representation was made, despite huge losses, Ingasira quickly defended himself, saying it was his “personal opinion” that the decision was not prudent.
Wangwe further demanded to know the process advocates who represented NHIF were sourced. The HA supply chain management officer told the committee that there was an advertisement and pre-qualification done, with the Fund receiving a user request from the user department on sourcing advocates.
The response by the SHA officials was, however, not convincing, as the committee observed it conflicted, contradicted and that the tender to recruit advocates did not qualify under single sourcing.“We ask to adjourn and provide more details,” Dr Mwangangi pleaded with the committee, a request that was granted.
The representatives were also grilled on deliveries under LinMama's initiative.
The Auditor General revealed a surplus or deficit, and other comprehensive income reflected that Linda Mama's benefits and expenses amounted to Sh4,493,259,781, which included a payment of Sh1,608,200.
However, the contract between the Fund and the supplier was not provided for audit.
“In the circumstances, the accuracy and completeness of Sh1,608,200 on Linda Mama benefit expenses could not be confirmed,” noted the auditor general.