Kenya’s dream of giving every citizen access to quality healthcare has hit a major roadblock. The country’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program, which was launched to bring better health services to all 47 counties, is now caught up in a scandal involving ghost workers, fake employees being paid with public money.
According to a recent investigation by Citizen TV, millions of shillings meant for real county health workers may have been stolen by cartels operating inside the Ministry of Health. A leaked internal document shows that the payroll numbers at the ministry don’t match the list held by the Council of Governors, which manages healthcare at the county level.
What’s shocking is that the names of people who have died, left the country, or no longer work in the health sector are still being paid salaries. That’s public money going to waste, and Kenyans are rightfully angry.
Outside Afya House, UHC staff have been protesting daily. With songs, dances, and vuvuzelas, they are demanding that their contracts be made permanent and pensionable. They want job security, not to be mixed up in a system that’s failing them.
Muthomi Njuki, Chair of the Council of Governors’ Health Committee, shared some hard facts. “The official list says there are 8,700 UHC workers. But we’ve only verified about 5,700. That means around 3,000 names on the payroll are questionable.” If one worker earns KSh 50,000 a month, that’s KSh 1.7 million lost every month in just one county and over KSh 20 million a year.
In a letter dated May 14, 2025, Dr. Ouma Oluga, the Medical Services Permanent Secretary, confirmed that many names on the payroll belong to people who have exited the profession or passed away. But since payroll is managed nationally, there’s no proper system to confirm if someone is still working.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced a nationwide headcount of UHC staff. “We need to know how many are truly working,” he said. The audit is set for the second week of June.
While some unions have pushed back against the plan, Njuki insists it’s necessary. “We can’t keep paying people we can’t verify,” he said. “We need full access to payroll data to sort this out.”
Council of Governors Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi also weighed in, saying that before the payroll is handed over to counties, the national government must clear up all issues.
By Lucky Anyanje
