A fresh legal challenge has cast uncertainty over Kenya’s ambitious healthcare reforms, after a petitioner moved to court seeking to suspend the rollout of the Social Health Authority (SHA) and related digital health systems.
The case, filed at the High Court in Kiambu, raises sharp questions about whether key institutions driving the reforms have the legal authority to handle insurance-related functions such as premium collection, claims processing and benefit payments.
The petition was lodged by Francis Awino, who argues that several state agencies may be operating beyond the powers granted to them under Kenyan law.
Named in the suit are the Ministry of Health, the National Treasury, the Social Health Authority, the Digital Health Authority, the Public Service Commission and the Teachers Service Commission, among others.
At the centre of the dispute is the government’s wider healthcare financing plan, introduced as part of President William Ruto’s push toward universal health coverage. The reforms are intended to replace the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund with a new structure built around mandatory contributions and digital patient records.
But the petitioner contends that parts of the system amount to insurance business being conducted without clear legal backing.
According to court filings, the case questions whether public agencies can lawfully undertake activities typically reserved for regulated insurers unless Parliament has expressly granted those powers.
Awino is also challenging the legality and financial sustainability of the Social Health Insurance Fund framework, arguing that the continued rollout could expose the public to legal and financial risks if the courts later find the system unconstitutional.
The petition seeks conservatory orders to temporarily stop further implementation and expansion of SHA and related digital health programmes until the matter is fully heard and determined.
Among the orders requested is a declaration barring SHA, the Digital Health Authority and other state bodies from conducting underwriting, insurance administration or claims settlement functions without explicit statutory authority.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye directed the petitioner to serve all respondents by May 8. State agencies named in the case are expected to file their responses by May 22. The matter will return to court on June 9 for further directions.
The legal challenge comes at a sensitive moment for the government’s healthcare agenda. Officials have defended SHA as a critical pillar of universal healthcare, saying the reforms are designed to widen access to treatment and reduce the burden of out-of-pocket medical costs for millions of Kenyans.
Critics, however, have repeatedly questioned the speed of implementation, the handling of personal medical data and the long-term financing model behind the scheme. The Ministry of Health had not publicly responded to the petition by Wednesday evening.
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