NAIROBI, Kenya – A new audit has revealed rampant theft of medical supplies in public hospitals across several counties, with drugs worth hundreds of millions of shillings reportedly siphoned off into the black market through a network involving rogue staff and private pharmacies.
According to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report for the financial year ending June 2024, the lack of effective inventory systems and weak internal controls has enabled large-scale pilferage of essential drugs, compromising healthcare delivery for millions of Kenyans.
The audit names counties including Wajir, Nakuru, Mandera, Garissa, Tana River, Kiambu, Vihiga, Nyandarua, and Bomet as being particularly vulnerable to theft due to poor or nonexistent inventory tracking systems.
In Wajir, the county purchased drugs worth Sh156.2 million during the year, but drugs valued at Sh98 million could not be traced.
The county maintains all inventory records manually—a method flagged as unreliable and prone to manipulation.
In Garissa, Sh108 million worth of drugs reportedly distributed to health facilities were not recorded in store ledgers.
An additional Sh26 million spent on supplies from a local vendor was also not supported by documentation.
Tana River’s Hola Level Four Hospital, like many others across the country, lacks an electronic tracking system for its drug inventory.
Similar issues were reported in Nakuru and Bomet, where drugs worth over Sh100 million were procured from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) without accompanying inspection reports or receipt documentation.
Even counties using information systems faced credibility issues. Vihiga County’s Level Four Hospital operates a digital pharmacy system, but failed to submit annual stock reports for audit, raising doubts over data accuracy.
Kiambu County, which bought over Sh90 million in drugs, did not provide any inspection reports to verify the receipt and distribution of the supplies.
The Auditor General’s findings reinforce growing concerns about the scale of drug theft in the devolved healthcare sector.
Past incidents in Nakuru and Kericho counties have forced governors to enlist the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to probe the theft of medical supplies, many of which are believed to end up in private clinics and chemists.
In Kericho, Governor Erick Mutai confirmed ongoing investigations into drug theft involving key hospitals such as the County Referral Hospital, Kapkatet, Londiani, Fort Ternan, and Kipkelion.
“We are working on a system to tighten the noose around those involved in the crime,” Governor Mutai said, adding that pharmacists linked to the theft had been suspended and transferred pending further investigation.
Healthcare workers in public facilities have for years complained of drug shortages, a crisis now traced not only to budgetary shortfalls but also to systemic pilferage.
Patients are often forced to purchase essential medicines from private chemists—some of which may be stocked with stolen government supplies.
The Auditor General’s report calls for urgent reforms, including the adoption of electronic inventory management systems and strict audit trails, to close gaps that have turned public health supply chains into profit streams for criminal networks.
