Busia Senator Okiya Umtatah and two others have moved to court seeking to block the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) before its launch today.
Mr Umtatah argues with Mr Eliud Karanja Matindi and Dr Magari Jikini that the subsidiary legislation required to operationalize the Social Health Insurance Act did not exist.
The three petitioners also questioned the procurement of the Safaricom consortium to provide an Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System (IHTS) for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at a cost of Sh104.8 billion.
“The petitioners reiterate that SHIF cannot be deployed in the absence of enabling subsidiary legislation enacted under the SHA Act and approved by Parliament to give effect to it,” Mr Umtatah said.
They are challenging the constitutional validity of the implementation of the two repealed statutory notices – the Social Health Insurance (General) Regulations, 2024 and the Social Health Insurance (Court Procedure) Rules, 2024, Mr Umtata said in the petition.
He said excluding the Senate from its legislation violates the rule of law, democracy, people’s participation, and the transfer and sharing of power.
He also said that awarding the tender to the Safaricom consortium was suspicious because of the way it was procured, noting that it contravened requirements that public contracts must be fair, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
Apeiro Limited, the largest shareholder in the Safaricom consortium, has acquired the technology-based system for the UHC programme.
According to the petitioners, the request for proposal was issued on May 9, 2024, and on May 15, the consortium submitted its technical and financial proposals.
“Incredibly, based on the purported assessment on the same date, the procuring entity issued a notice of intent to award the contract under Letter Reference No. MOH/PROC/GEN/MF/ADSCMS/VOL.1 dated 16 May 2024,” Mr Umtatah said. .
He pointed out that the government would not own the system under very strict conditions. He said the consortium would only grant very restricted user rights, under a periodic subscription, and nothing would prevent it from selling the software to third parties.
“The court is pleased to issue a temporary order suspending the award… to the Safaricom Consortium… for the provision of an integrated healthcare IT system for Universal Healthcare (UHC),” the three said in the petition.
Mr Umtatah said working to deliver the IHTS for UHC program is the exclusive mandate of the Digital Health Agency, which was established under the Digital Health Act.
The lawmaker said that the law provides for the establishment of the Digital Health Agency (DHA), the framework for providing digital health services, and the establishment of a comprehensive and integrated digital health information system for related purposes.
He said it cannot be disputed that through the Dubai Health Authority Law of 2023, Parliament established the Digital Health Agency as an independent specialized institution charged with developing, operating and maintaining a comprehensive integrated health information system for managing core digital systems and infrastructure.
He said: “The Dubai Health Authority is an independent legal entity capable, in its own name, of developing, purchasing, acquiring, collecting and disposing of movable and immovable property.”
Under the new health plan, 2.75% will be deducted from Kenyans’ monthly income starting October. A petition to challenge the new health laws, which replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund, is still pending in the Court of Appeal.