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Social Health Authority (SHA) Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mercy Mwangangi faced tough questioning from MPs over Ksh.77 million paid to three law firms to recover a Ksh.13 million debt during the 2020/2021 financial year, when the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) was still operational.
The Public Investments Committee (PIC), chaired by Emmanuel Wangwe, expressed concern over the unusually high legal costs and demanded accountability from the SHA leadership.
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Despite Dr. Mwangangi’s efforts to distance the current SHA management from the expenditure, legislators insisted she take responsibility and provide a detailed explanation within three weeks.
“We are looking at you, not the people who left. Kenyans know you, not them,” said PIC Vice Chair Caleb Amisi, rejecting her claims of being new to the institution.
Wangwe further questioned whether the agency had responded to audit queries, suggesting that management letters from the Auditor General had been ignored.
In her defense, Dr. Mwangangi said her team was compiling the necessary responses and would verify why previous NHIF officials failed to reply to audit requests.
The committee also flagged Ksh.247 million in total legal payments for that year, questioning how a portion of it — Ksh.77 million — was spent on a minor debt recovery case.
SHA Chief Financial Officer Robert Ingasira told MPs that the documentation presented had been compiled from both NHIF and SHA records but admitted that the Auditor General had not been provided with the information earlier.
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Dr. Mwangangi assured lawmakers that significant reforms had since been implemented, with SHA operations now guided by transparent, legally gazetted benefit tariffs.
Lawmakers also urged the CEO to consider amending the Social Health Insurance Act to better reflect the needs of Kenyans — particularly around coverage limits for repeat surgeries.
Responding, Dr. Mwangangi said such changes could be addressed through the Health Benefits Advisory Panel, which reviews benefit packages based on public feedback, available funding, and national disease burden.
She emphasized that SHA represents a stronger and more transparent system than NHIF, calling on MPs to help raise awareness and encourage Kenyans to register under the new scheme.
