Three individuals have been arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts over allegations of posing as Social Health Authority (SHA) officials and defrauding a patient’s relative of KSh 239,400 under the pretext of waiving hospital bills.
The suspects — Millycent Makena Mwiti, Paul Muga Okoth, and Bildad Steve — appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego, facing multiple counts of obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code.
Prosecutors told the court that between June 19 and 20, 2025, the trio approached John Kariuki, whose relative was admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital, and claimed they could facilitate a waiver of medical bills through SHA channels. In the process, they allegedly received hundreds of thousands of shillings in fraudulent payments.
According to the charge sheet, each suspect is linked to separate amounts in addition to the jointly obtained sum. Mwiti is accused of acquiring KSh 38,900 and spending KSh 38,300 of the illicit proceeds, Okoth allegedly pocketed KSh 200,500, while Steve is said to have obtained KSh 200,390 through the scam.
The court released each accused person on KSh 50,000 cash bail, with Mwiti also required to sign a KSh 200,000 personal bond. The case will be mentioned on a later date for further directions.
This incident comes at a time when the Social Health Authority — Kenya’s flagship body for universal health coverage — is under heightened scrutiny following a series of fraud cases. Just weeks ago, the Ministry of Health suspended operations at 40 health facilities over allegations of mismanagement and fraudulent billing under SHA programs.
Kenya’s Sh104 billion digital health initiative, designed to modernise the healthcare system and seal corruption loopholes once rampant at the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), now faces fresh questions about its effectiveness in curbing scams that exploit vulnerable patients.
If convicted, the three suspects face stiff penalties, including imprisonment, as authorities move to send a strong message against fraud targeting the country’s public health financing systems.
