Nominated MP Sabina Chege has called on Parliament to pass a law requiring public officers to seek medical treatment exclusively in public hospitals. She said the country’s public health system is under strain and at risk of complete failure if leaders continue to rely on private facilities while public hospitals suffer neglect. Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Chege pushed for urgent reforms and increased funding for Kenya’s public health institutions. She argued that unless lawmakers and senior public servants use the same health services as ordinary Kenyans, the system will never improve.
“We must stop pretending,” MP Sabina Chege told the House. “If public officers knew they had to walk into a Level 4 hospital in their constituency for treatment, they would prioritize fixing them.”
MP Sabina Chege, who has toured hospitals from urban centers to rural outposts, described deteriorating conditions across the board. She singled out the poor state of Kenyatta National Hospital’s private wing, citing cracked bathtubs, aging infrastructure, and inadequate staffing. “This is a facility where presidents once received treatment. Now, even its private wing struggles,” Sabina Chege said. “When did the rain start beating us?”
MP Sabina Chege said the country’s public hospitals are overstretched and underfunded, despite Article 43(1)(a) of the Constitution guaranteeing every Kenyan the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
Only six national referral hospitals currently serve the country: Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Mwai Kibaki Hospital in Othaya, the National Spinal Injury Hospital, and Mathari Mental Hospital.
MP Sabina Chege warned that overdependence on private hospitals not only weakens public institutions but leaves poor Kenyans without access to quality care.
“Public money is deducted from every public servant’s paycheck under SHIF. But where does it go? It doesn’t improve the facilities Kenyans use daily,” she said. “It’s time we put that money back into public hands.”
She called on MPs to confront the question directly: where would they seek care if they fell sick while visiting their constituencies? For most, she said, the answer is private clinics—not the local health centers serving their voters.
MP Sabina Chege also raised concern about the state of mental health services. Mathari remains the only national mental health facility, yet cases of depression and anxiety are on the rise. Sabina urged counties to invest in their own mental health units.
MP Sabina Chege pointed to KUTRRH as a model of what consistent investment can achieve. The hospital houses PET scanners and is constructing a 300-bed children’s hospital. “We can do this if we take public healthcare seriously,” she said. She proposed that making public hospitals mandatory for public officials would create direct pressure for improvement. It would increase staff accountability, ensure better services, and restore public confidence.
“If doctors know that an MP could walk in unannounced, they will stay present and give better service,” Sabina Chege told fellow legislators.
To close the gap between public and private health care, she urged the Ministry of Health to invest in modern diagnostic tools, update infrastructure, and offer public sector doctors salaries that match those in private practice.
She also stressed the importance of transparency and oversight, calling for clear policy guidelines on how public funds are allocated in the health sector.
“Let us have confidence in our own facilities,” Sabina Chege concluded. “When we spend in our own hospitals, the money goes back into the system. That’s how we fix healthcare for everyone.”
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