NAIROBI, Kenya — Tuesday’s parliamentary session erupted into disorder when Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and members of the National Assembly Health Committee engaged in a loud, heated exchange over allegations of mismanagement and conflicts of interest tied to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
What began as a formal question-and-answer session quickly devolved into personal accusations, insults, and shouting, forcing the presiding chair to temporarily suspend the proceedings.
Duale, under pressure to answer concerns arising from the committee’s report on SHA’s operations (including delayed reimbursements, unpaid claims, and perceived opaque funding), pushed back hard.
He accused some MPs of having vested interests in sectors they were meant to oversee.
“I cannot be intimidated by a member. I come to answer questions in accordance with Article 153,” Duale declared, warning that members should not attempt to pressure or influence his responses.
The tension escalated when Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi fired back, accusing Duale of arrogance and alleged complicity in the SHA’s financial irregularities. He demanded respect for Parliament and rebuked Duale’s suggestion of extortion.
“You are the people stealing from SHA. You and your friends are the thieves!” Kibagendi yelled, prompting chaos as MPs interrupted and jeered.
As the shouting intensified, Duale claimed Kibagendi had conflicting interests, insinuating he owned a hospital. The MP, livid, denied the accusations, branding them lies.
The committee chair, Dr. James Nyikal, attempted to calm the situation but was also drawn into the melee, ultimately seeing Kibagendi storm out of the chamber.
Stakes Behind the Fracas
The committee’s report, tabled earlier in the session, flagged severe challenges facing SHA: inconsistent cash flows, backlog payments, bureaucratic delays harming faith-based and cancer treatment hospitals, and a lack of clarity on oversight.
Duale dismissed the findings as “unfair and inaccurate,” requesting seven days to produce a comprehensive written response to the committee’s concerns.
Observers say the heated exchange underscores the high political stakes surrounding SHA, which is meant to centralize health financing and reimbursement but is already ensnared in controversy. The aggressive tone of the session suggests deeper fractures between executive ambitions and legislative oversight.
