By :Rhoda Bogeta
The government has urged the High Court to decline an application seeking to suspend the Sh104.8 billion Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) digital system, warning that such an order would paralyse healthcare delivery across the country.
Appearing before Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Friday, Senior Counsel Kioko Kilukumi defended the Safaricom-led consortium contract, insisting that the procurement and rollout of the system complied with the law and served the public interest.
Kilukumi told the court that the agreement was subjected to extensive legal review and was eventually cleared by former Attorney General Justin Muturi following consultations involving the Ministry of Health and the National Treasury.
He said the Attorney General scrutinised the contract in detail before giving his approval, after what he described as comprehensive inter-ministerial deliberations.
The submissions were made in response to a petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, who is challenging the contract on grounds of alleged fraud, irregular procurement, and breach of public finance laws.
Omtatah argued that the deal was flawed and was awarded without a competitive process, terming it an unlawful transfer of public funds to private entities.
He told the court that the process lacked transparency and violated procurement statutes, exposing taxpayers to potential loss.
The senator further warned that continued implementation of the SHIF digital system risked mismanagement of public resources and could erode public confidence in the national health insurance programme.
In rebuttal, Kilukumi dismissed the claims, submitting that the procurement model adopted for the SHIF technology had already been upheld by the Supreme Court.
He maintained that the special procurement procedure was lawful and binding, and could not be faulted as alleged by the petitioner.
The court heard that suspending the digital platform would have severe consequences, as it is the sole integrated system linking patients, healthcare providers, and facilities nationwide.
Kilukumi warned that halting the system would disrupt patient registration, verification, claims processing, and payments, effectively cutting off millions of Kenyans from healthcare services.
He argued that any interruption would gravely harm the public interest and derail the government’s efforts to implement universal health coverage.
Justice Mwamuye reserved the matter for judgment, which will be delivered on March 12, 2026.
