
The Social Health Authority (SHA) will begin fencing a 10-hectare (23-acre) plot in Nairobi’s Karen area even as it awaits the conclusion of an ownership dispute.
SHA inherited the land from the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), in which a multi-billion-dollar project was to be developed. The SHA has since replaced NHIF.
While appearing before a Parliamentary committee, SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi told MPs that the Authority has since secured a budget of Sh50 million to help in fencing the plot.
The Committee, chaired by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, was meeting Mwangangi over the audit reports for 2021/2022 and 2023/2024.
According to the Auditor General’s latest report, the Karen land, valued at nearly Sh298 million, remains under legal dispute despite the Fund holding the original title documents.
The case, which has dragged through the Nairobi courts since 2011, has seen the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) involved, but ownership remains unresolved.
“The ownership of this parcel of land is in dispute and the matter is in Court,” Gathungu said in her report.
“In the circumstances, the ownership of land valued at Sh298,589,665 could not be confirmed.”
In her explanation, Mwangangi demonstrated to the Wangwe-led committee the practical steps the Authority has taken to get back the land.
“DCI requested NHIF to surrender the original titles for purposes of investigation. The current status of the matter indicates that the criminal matter is still ongoing,” Mwangangi stated.
During the session on Wednesday morning at Bunge Towers, MPs were taken aback by revelations that SHA spent Sh91 million in legal fees to recover a paltry Sh13.9 million.
MPs sitting at the Public Investment Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture (PIC-SSAA) had difficult time reconciling the variance of Sh77.6 million, which they noted is not justified.
The revelation is contained in the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report for the financial year 2023/24.
“Included in the amount is legal expenses of Sh91.6 million paid for cases which had an estimated amount of Sh13.9 million. This resulted in unexplained or unreconciled overpayment of Sh77.6 million, which was also contrary to schedule 6(1)(b) of the advocates' remuneration,” Gathungu’s report indicates.
The report further questions the Sh3 billion car park project, which ballooned from an original contract sum of Sh909 million.
The Committee had earlier recommended that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) fast-track investigations into the procurement of the multi-storage car park with a view of preferring charges against those found culpable of defrauding the Fund.
The Auditor General however noted that despite several parliamentary recommendations, investigations into possible procurement irregularities have stalled for years without tangible action.
“As at the time of this audit in March 2023, no progress report had been received from the Commission (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission),” the Auditor pointed.
SHA boss linked the delay to the ongoing investigations, which she noted now lies in the hands of the ethics body.
“The matter was therefore referred to EACC as directed by the Public Investment Committee, and EACC commenced investigations by requesting original documentation,” the CEO stated.
“In September 2022, the Fund’s CEO was invited by EACC to record a statement on the status of the documents. EACC guided that they would give way forward.”
Public Investment Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture (PIC-SSAA) is a parliamentary committee responsible for overseeing public investments in social services and related sectors.
It investigates issues, considers reports from the Auditor-General, and works to ensure accountability in state corporations under its purview.